Apple has announced that they will be releasing a new credit card in the summer of 2019. This card promises to be different from most other credit cards in several ways, and it will offer a number of benefits, including cash-back rewards, no fees, a promise of lower interest and money-management tools along with new security and privacy features.
The biggest change that Apple is trying to bring about is the elimination of the physical credit card. Those who are approved for the Apple Credit Card will receive a titanium Apple Card, but rather than using the physical card Apple is encouraging customers to use the Apple Card via Apple Pay on their iPhone, Apple Watch, online and on their Mac computers. One major incentive is that users of the physical card will receive fewer reward points than users of Apple Pay.
Although Apple wants customers to use the more secure Apple Pay instead of the physical card, the card itself has several security features. Firstly, it has no identifying information on it other than the customer’s name. That means no card number, no CVV, no expiration date and no signature. If you need a card number you can get one from the Wallet app (for in-person purchases) or with auto-fill in the Safari web browser.
For in-person purchases, your identification is authenticated through a biometric method: your fingerprint, your face or your wrist-and-passcode are required before a purchase can be made on your Apple Card. When you hold your device over a merchant’s card reader, a one-time token is passed to it instead of your entire credit card number so the merchant never sees your credit card number. If the merchant doesn’t have your card number that is one less way it can be accessed in a data breach. Apple Pay already works this way, so it was a small step to creating a credit card that does this.
Apple says that their new card is the first one that encourages you to pay less interest. According to their website, “When you’re ready to make a payment, Apple Card estimates the interest you’ll wind up paying, based on any payment amount you choose. And it does it in real time, so you can make an informed decision about how much of your balance to pay down.”
Rewards points are paid back in Daily Cash. It goes right onto your Apple Cash card, so you can use it just like cash. There are no annual, cash‑advance, over-the-limit, or late fees. Spend summaries make it easy to see what you are spending your money on. And if you ever see a charge you don’t recognize, you can get more information about it right in the app.
One drawback with the Apple Card is that you cannot add authorized users, so you can’t share the account with others, including a spouse.
