Barclays And Synchrony In The Race For Apple Credit Card Deal

Apple is reportedly negotiating with Barclays to take over from Goldman Sachs as the company’s credit card partner, according to two sources close to the matter. This happens as Goldman Sachs steps away from its plans to focus on consumer finance.

Synchrony Financial, a company that issues Credit card, is also in talks with Apple about teaming up for the credit card, according to the first source. The two sourced refused to reveal their identities because the discussions are private.

Multiple Financial Firms Want To Replace Goldman But Find The Original Deal Unprofitable

The sources revealed that many financial companies want to take over for Goldman, which introduced the Apple credit card in 2019. Even though many banks want to work with Apple, one of the most famous companies in the world, they also thought the first deal wasn’t good and didn’t make enough money.

Apple and Barclays have been talking for a few months, but it could take even more months to agree on a deal.

According to earlier reports, JPMorgan Chase has also been in discussions with Apple about the credit card since last year. Representatives from Goldman, Barclays, Apple, and JPMorgan didn’t say anything. Synchrony didn’t reply to the request for a comment immediately.

David Solomon, the Chief Executive Officer of Goldman stated that the company’s contract with Apple is set until 2030, but it could end before that.

Last year, Goldman handed over its General Motors credit card services to Barclays. This lets customers earn and use reward points on Cadillacs, Buicks, and other GM vehicles, including electric cars. This deal helped Barclays grow its card business in the U.S.

Goldman stepped into the consumer business almost ten years ago to make more money from areas besides trading and investment banking. By the end of 2022, Goldman decided to stop focusing so much on its retail plans after reserving billions of dollars to handle possible losses in the business.

CFPB Fined Apple And Goldman $89 Million For Mishandling Credit Card Disputes

A few months ago, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) fined Apple and Goldman Sachs $89 million for wrongly handling credit card disputes. The two companies also mislead people who bought iPhones about interest-free payment plans. The CFPB says that problems in customer service and lies affected many Apple Card users.

After investigating for two years, the watchdog discovered that Apple didn’t send many complaints from customers about Apple Card purchases to Goldman Sachs. When Apple did send the complaints, Goldman Sachs didn’t follow the rules for investigating them.

The regulator claims that Goldman and Apple introduced the Apple Card even though third-party experts warned Goldman that the system to handle disputes wasn’t ready because of technology issues. These mistakes caused customers to wait a long time to get their money back for problems with charges, and some even got wrong negative marks on their credit reports.