Apple Offers New High-Yield Deposit Account for US Card Customers With 4.15 Percent Interest Rate

Apple is seeking to attract US savers with a new high-yield deposit account it announced on Monday with partner Goldman Sachs Group amid increased competition among financial institutions for consumer dollars.

Apple said users of its Apple Card can earn 4.15 percent on savings accounts, or 10 times higher than the national average, citing March data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation that showed consumers earned an average of 0.37 percent on savings in bank accounts.

Regional and small banks are competing for deposits by dangling promotions, including higher rates and cash bonuses for opening new accounts.

The moves come after rattled consumers moved billions of dollars to banking giants from smaller lenders in March following the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.

The Apple rate is higher than the 3.9 percent Goldman offers for an online savings account at its digital consumer bank, Marcus.

Last month, Apple launched its "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) service in the US, threatening to disrupt the fintech sector dominated by firms like Affirm Holdings and Swedish payments company Klarna.

The service, Apple Pay Later, will allow users to split purchases into four payments spread over six weeks with no interest or fees, the company said. It will initially be offered to select users, with plans of a full roll-out in the coming months.

Users can get loans between $50 (roughly Rs. 4,000) and $1,000 (roughly Rs. 83,000) for online and in-app purchases made on iPhones and iPads with merchants that accept Apple Pay, according to the company.

More than 85 percent of US retailers accept Apple Pay, the company said.

© Thomson Reuters 2023