Interesting given that JP Morgan lost $1B last year on the Apple card due to failing to correctly model the creditworthiness of customers.
Also surprising that the 3% transaction fee on cards has held up for decades; one would expect that competition would bring it down. Instead, it's created an opportunity for all sorts of businesses.
What I like most about this is that the Apple UI makes it dead-simple to see exactly what you spent and what you owe. To my mind, this is the huge benefit of Apple Pay services: instead of mindlessly throwing the card into any slot and getting a shock at the end of the month, you see your status at any time, including what you just bought. I believe this has huge benefits for people living hectic lives to manage their finances.
Apple's ability to win in personal financial services depends on their ability to reduce the errors, friction, and confusion that lead to support calls and missed payments. Unlike banks and cards that depend on a plethora of dark fees that confuse consumers, Apple's gambit is to smooth it out, particularly for the unsophisticated. If Apple can set the standard for the industry, I'm all for it. (Yes, I'm lookin' at you, GE Capital.)
Are services a distraction for Apple? Goodness, Apple is the economic size and complexity of a small country. Rather than dumping money into buying unrelated companies or X-moonshots that only puff egos, Apple management seems focused on incrementally extending the Apple way where it makes sense: to bring goodness to TV and credit cards and underserved markets, to tax their supply chains with best practices, etc. I wouldn't do it any differently.
Also surprising that the 3% transaction fee on cards has held up for decades; one would expect that competition would bring it down. Instead, it's created an opportunity for all sorts of businesses.
What I like most about this is that the Apple UI makes it dead-simple to see exactly what you spent and what you owe. To my mind, this is the huge benefit of Apple Pay services: instead of mindlessly throwing the card into any slot and getting a shock at the end of the month, you see your status at any time, including what you just bought. I believe this has huge benefits for people living hectic lives to manage their finances.
Apple's ability to win in personal financial services depends on their ability to reduce the errors, friction, and confusion that lead to support calls and missed payments. Unlike banks and cards that depend on a plethora of dark fees that confuse consumers, Apple's gambit is to smooth it out, particularly for the unsophisticated. If Apple can set the standard for the industry, I'm all for it. (Yes, I'm lookin' at you, GE Capital.)
Are services a distraction for Apple? Goodness, Apple is the economic size and complexity of a small country. Rather than dumping money into buying unrelated companies or X-moonshots that only puff egos, Apple management seems focused on incrementally extending the Apple way where it makes sense: to bring goodness to TV and credit cards and underserved markets, to tax their supply chains with best practices, etc. I wouldn't do it any differently.