Apple has unveiled a new credit card in partnership with Golden Sachs: the Apple Card.
As revealed by Apple executive Jennifer Bailey, the Apple Card gives a wide variety of benefits to Apple iPhone owners, especially to those with access to Apple Pay, Apple’s very own mobile payment and digital wallet service. And in case Apple Pay isn’t accepted at certain site or establishment, consumers can also make use of the physical titanium card that contains only the owner’s name, unlike other credit cards that has the credit card number, expiration date, and other sensitive information visible right on the card.
Bailey emphasized during the presentation that Apple won’t know “what you bought, where you bought it, or how much you paid for it.” While there are spending analytics available to users, the analysis itself will only be done on the device and will never be stored in Apple’s servers. Bailey also reassured the audience that Goldman won’t sell data to any other third party services.
“We needed a bank to do things that were never done in the industry before,” Bailey said. “As a newcomer to consumer financial services, Goldman was up for the challenge of doing something more bold and innovative. ”
The Apple Card will be making use of a so-called ‘special security chip’ to store the card number. Each transaction generates a one-time code (OTC) that will be sent to the phone for verification before the purchase can go through. As an added layer of protection, the owner’s iPhone can also be configured for facial identification or fingerprint scanning.
Apple CEO Tim Cook says, “With our hardware, software, and services, we think Apple is uniquely positioned to make the most significant change in the credit-card experience in 50 years.”
