A new savings account through a partnership with Apple and Goldman Sachs does not appear to be the success both companies hoped it would be.
Key Details
- In April, Apple heavily promoted its savings account partnership with Goldman, which allowed customers to put rewards from their Apple Card directly into a Goldman savings account.
- However, just a month after the launch, some customers complained that accessing their funds is not as simple as Apple promised, The Wall Street Journal reports.
- Individuals have reported difficulty transferring funds from their Apple accounts to their typical banks. While the customers receive their funds eventually, sometimes the money disappears from their accounts completely.
- Goldman declined to comment on specific customer cases but says, “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.”
Why it’s news
Apple launched its new partnership with a fair amount of success in April, receiving nearly $1 billion in deposits on the first day. However, the delays between money transfers have been somewhat disconcerting for new customers. Customers receive their money, but it may take longer than they would like, which can present problems for customers who need quick access to their cash.
New accounts may be more likely to have delays due to anti-money-laundering alerts and other security concerns, The Wall Street Journal reports. This is especially true if a customer tries to transfer large amounts of money from brand-new accounts.
In one instance, Min-Jae Lee deposited $100,000 into an Apple account in April. By the following month, she decided to move the money to another account, but it took her three weeks to transfer it to the preferred account.
While her account was under security review, Lee says that her Apple and her new preferred bank accounts showed a $0 balance. The money finally reappeared in her preferred account on May 25.
While delaying large bank transfers is typical, the length of the transfer in Lee’s case is unusual.
“A two- to four-week delay definitely seems long,” banking consultant Dennis Lormel says. “As someone who deals with banks on a frequent basis, to me, that seems unreasonable.”
Apple’s partnership with Goldman attracted customers due to the high savings yield. It pays a 4.15% interest rate compared to the average savings account rate of 0.25%. The savings account also allows Apple to integrate its products into consumers’ everyday lives fully. Customers must use an Apple Card to access the account.
However, if Apple and Goldman cannot resolve the extended delay problem, they could soon lose customers who cannot afford to wait weeks to access their funds.
