Apple might launch its own credit card next year

A new report suggests that the tech giant Apple will launch its own credit card for its users by next year.

Partnering with the investment bank and the Wall Street titan Goldman Sachs, a report from Wall Street Journal claims that Apple is planning to launch an Apple Pay branded credit card.

The report states that the card will contain the Apple Pay logo and will launch sometime in 2019. However, it is still not clear if the card would function like a regular credit card with Apple branding or if it will provide access to features such as Apple Pay Cash or give specific discounts on the company’s products and services, reported BGR.

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At present, the Cupertino tech giant offers a ‘Barclaycard Visa’ with particular financing and reward options for shopping at Apple. Customers can get a loan for up to six months in purchases of under $500, and an 18 month loan on a purchase of over $1,000. Not only that, customers can also get reward points for shopping at Apple, redeemable as iTunes Gift Cards.

Goldman Sachs is most popular for the being the biggest of the Wall Street investment banks and has lately been looking at consumer lending as a new possibility for expansion. A Goldman-backed Apple Pay card contains the potential for Apple to try deeper integration between its payments network and physical transactions. Goldman Sachs will also offer in-store loans to Apple customers, stated the report.

Apple already allows users to send money through a service known as ‘Apple Pay Cash’, which is at present the easiest way but, only works at stores with contactless technology built into their payment terminals. The new Apple Pay card can let user spend their Apple Pay Cash in any store that accepts credit cards.

As per The Verge, this new move would be a big foray of Goldman Sachs into consumer credit cards that will expand beyond their own customer base.