Apple CEO Tim Cook launched the Apple Card at a launch event at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California, on Monday, March 25, 2019.
Noah Berger | AFP | Getty Images
apple Discussing with JPMorgan Chase Let banks take over the tech giant’s flagship store credit card program from Goldman Sachssaid a person familiar with the negotiations.
The person, who requested anonymity to discuss the nature of the potential deal, said discussions are still in the early stages and key elements of the deal — such as price and whether JPMorgan will continue to use certain features of the Apple Card — have yet to be determined. Negotiations could break down over the next few months over these or other issues, this person said.
But the move shows that Apple’s options are limited when Goldman Sachs acquires it. Decide from its ill-fated Retail Banking Strategy. Only a handful of U.S. card issuers have the scale and interest to take over the Apple Card program, which cost Goldman Sachs money. supervision review.
According to the Nielsen Report, an industry newsletter, JPMorgan Chase is the largest credit card issuer in the United States in terms of purchase volume.
The bank is looking to pay down about $17 billion in Apple Card loans below face value as Increased losses On the card, people familiar with the matter said. Sources close to Goldman Sachs believe the Apple Card portfolio has higher-than-average delinquency and default rates primarily because users are new to the account; these losses should lessen over time.
But issues surrounding credit quality have made the portfolio less attractive to issuers amid concerns that the U.S. economy may be slowing.
JPMorgan is also seeking to eliminate a key feature of the Apple Card, calendar-based billing, which means all customers would be billed at the beginning of the month rather than staggered throughout the period, people familiar with the matter said. While the feature is attractive to customers, it means service staff receive a high volume of calls at the same time every month.
Apple and JPMorgan Chase declined to comment on the talks, which were earlier reported by The Wall Street Journal.
