The two banks are said to be in active talks to take over, a day after Goldman Sachs CEO said the company could end service contracts for Apple Card customers early.
Barclays and Synchrony Financial are the latest names linked to Apple Card acquisition discussions. The report, released late Wednesday, said: Reuters Both spoke about entering into discussions with Apple and Goldman Sachs regarding Apple's credit card.
Sources familiar with the matter were quoted as saying: in the report He says discussions are ongoing. Negotiations have apparently been going on for months, but it is not clear what stage they are at.
Apple has worked with Barclay's in the past. The bank and Apple had the Barclaycard Visa with Apple Rewards, which at the time allowed users to earn rewards on future Apple or iTunes purchases.
The partnership began winding down in 2020 after the company discontinued special financing on Apple products for cardholders. On May 7, 2021, cardholders received their Barclays View MasterCard and earned points for MasterCard benefits rather than Apple-specific benefits.
Apple currently has a relationship with Synchrony Financial. The company uses Synchrony Financial as a buy now, pay later option when checking out with Apple Pay.
Goldman Sachs partnered with Apple in 2019 to launch the Apple Card. The card became popular among Apple customers, but Goldman Sachs was drained of cash on the deal.
The company reportedly lost $1.2 billion in 2022 due to Apple Card. The Platform Solutions segment, which hosts Apple Card, posted a net loss of $859 million in 2024.
In October 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) fined Goldman Sachs more than $90 million for mismanagement related to Apple Card. The agency scrutinized Goldman Sachs for billing errors, dispute resolution, and compliance with the Fair Credit Billing Act.
The CFPB found that Goldman Sachs struggled to meet regulatory standards for consumer credit. All this is to say that, despite its reputation as a global investment bank known for its financial services expertise, it wasn't a consumer-grade credit card before the Apple Card.
These challenges led Goldman Sachs to seek an early exit from the partnership. Goldman Sachs has begun informal discussions about transferring its role as Apple Card issuer by 2023. At the time, JPMorgan Chase & Co. was floated as a possible replacement, but those discussions were clearly fruitless.
This feature is currently backed by Goldman Sachs, so changing your Apple Card bank could impact your Apple Savings. If Apple moves to a new banking partner, such as JPMorgan Chase, it may require adjustments to the savings account infrastructure, which could cause disruption to account management and Daily Cash rewards deposits.
Goldman Sachs is contractually obligated to support Apple Card until 2030.
