Apple Card: 3 Things I Wish Apple Would Add
With the official launch of Apple Card this week, the tech giant is now entering a new realm of payment services. Although Apple Card offers a new way for consumers to make purchases, there are at least three areas of the user experience where improvements are needed.
1. Vague Rejections for Applicants
A few people who have already applied for Apple Card have been rejected. This is a problem for two reasons. First, if you are rejected, you will notice that it negatively impacts your credit score. This occurs whenever a card issuer (in this case Goldman Sachs) does a hard pull of your financial history and credit score. While it is ultimately up to the card issuer to accept or deny each applicant, the requirements for qualification are often unknown.
One applicant who had been declined posted the rejection email on Reddit. Even though the general reason for this decision is explained, it isn’t specific enough to the existent that an applicant would feel confident in re-applying at some point in the future. If the rejection email would include more details, it’s possible that applicants could more easily work towards a tangible goal (i.e. specific credit score) that improved the chances of qualifying.
2. No Integration With Existing Financial Apps
For applicants who are approved, Apple Card doesn’t allow you to sync data to financial apps like Mint. This is true at launch but might change at some point in the future. Some have said it’s likely that Apple Card will include these integrations after the initial launch. However, it’s noteworthy that the app includes its own spending analytics display. In other words, it’s possible that Apple’s goal is also to compete against existing budget/financial apps.
3. No Crypto Payment Option and/Or Crypto Wallet
Apple has already stated that Apple Card will not support cryptocurrency payments. In my opinion, it would make sense to do so. There are already crypto credit cards on the market that support this functionality on iOS and Android devices. For example, Nexo partnered with Mastercard to launch a new product on August 2. MCO Visa Card is a well-established crypto credit card that supports rewards for purchases at Spotify, Netflix, Expedia, and Airbnb.
Other mobile phone manufacturers have added support for cryptocurrencies, so Apple wouldn’t be the first. The best example is Samsung. In March 2019, it introduced a built-in crypto wallet for the Galaxy S10. This wallet supports ETH and ERC-20 tokens as well as decentralized applications. In August 2019, Samsung integrated these same features into its Galaxy Note 10.
This doesn’t mean that Apple, like Facebook or Walmart, has to try to launch its own cryptocurrency. It could merely use the Apple Card as a way to support existing cryptocurrencies natively on iOS devices.
