Apple launched a savings account program from Goldman Sachs for its Apple Card users in April, promising high yield, no fees, and ease of use from the Wallet.
But now, some customers are facing trouble getting their money out of those accounts, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Some users waited several weeks for money from their Apple accounts to be transferred to a different account. (Bank transfers typically take only a few days.) Customer service agents at Goldman Sachs—the bank that manages the Apple Savings account deposits—reportedly told one customer to wait a few more days each time they were contacted. In some cases, the agents offered customers inconsistent advice on what to do and in others, customers’ funds disappeared from their Apple accounts without showing up at their destination.
“The customer response to the new savings account for Apple Card users has been excellent and beyond our expectations,” Goldman Sachs told the Journal in a statement. “While the vast majority of customers see no delays in transferring their funds, in a limited number of cases, a user may experience a delayed transfer due to processes in place designed to help protect their accounts.”
Apple and Goldman Sachs did not immediately return Coins2Day’s request for comment.
Pulling back from Main Street
Goldman Sachs is retreating from its Main Street offerings. CEO David Solomon spent years trying to bolster the company’s consumer banking division. Yet business never picked up, costing the investment bank billions of dollars and pulling down its earnings.
In February, Solomon said the bank was “considering strategic alternatives” for its consumer platforms business, which includes the Apple Card. The division doesn’t include Goldman’s consumer bank Marcus, which offers its own savings accounts. During the bank’s earnings call in April, Solomon said he wasn’t concerned about Apple’s saving account program overpowering Marcus’ offerings, but he was keeping an eye on “cannibalization” nonetheless.
When Apple first announced its expansion into banking services in October, users were excited as the program offered cashbacks and a high yield on the savings account for certain Apple card holders. The savings account offers a 4.15% yield rate—far higher than the average 0.25% for savings accounts. The account linked to the Apple Card also had no fees, minimum deposits, or balance requirements—a big perk for customers who are typically subject to some of these conditions.
“Apple Card users will be able to easily set up and manage Savings directly in their Apple Card in Wallet,” the iPhone maker wrote in a statement announcing the program last year. “Users can also withdraw funds at any time by transferring them to a linked bank account or to their Apple Cash card, with no fees.”
Apple’s foray into everyday banking is part of a larger effort by the tech titan to offer in-house financial services to keep users within its ecosystem. Earlier this year, Apple launched an interest-free buy now, pay later program, also facilitated by Goldman Sachs, where customers can pay for certain expenses in installments without incurring interest.
But the financial services market could be a tough one for Apple to crack. The company faced delays in rolling out its BNPL and savings account programs. Other financial products like the Apple Card have not expanded internationally yet, Bloomberg reported, despite being around for three years.
Still, there’s a lot of opportunity for Apple if it keeps users in its ecosystem. Apple Pay transaction volumes have been on an upward trajectory, with the 2022 holiday season seeing a 62% uptick compared to a year earlier, according to Deutsche Bank data cited by the Journal.
