Apple Card It is one of Apple's least known services, at least in our country. But this will soon no longer be the case because it will soon be available in Spain the Apple credit card. In this post we will analyze all your features and advantages.
Currently, this card has nearly 7 million cardholders, all of them from the United States. It is a card designed primarily to be used with Apple Pay on Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch or Mac).
What is the Apple Card?
There are many times that Apple has surprised us by launching into exploring new business areas. In 2019, the company launched various and surprising initiatives such as Apple TV. One of them was to make a credit card available to its users for its US market, which became a reality thanks to the collaboration with Goldman Sachs.
Presented in style at an event in March of that same year, the card was very well received by the public. Is about a card with a physical format* but with a digital interface.
The Apple Card software is designed for users to avoid debt and pay modest interest. That is very laudable, although from the point of view of profitability it has not been a great business for the banking group behind it.
(*) The physical card is the same size as any other credit or debit card. The material with which it is made is titanium, which gives it great durability and considerable resistance to possible damage or scratches.
How Does It Work?
Although it works broadly like a conventional card, the truth is that the Apple Card It has a series of peculiarities that differentiate it from the rest. We explain it in more detail below:
Sign up for the Apple Card
At the moment, it is only possible to contract this card if you are a resident of the United States. "Tricks" like use a VPN, since it will be necessary to prove this condition with real documents. However, we are going to explain the hiring process, because most likely it will not be very different when the possibility is also opened to citizens of other countries:
To start, we take our device (for example, an iPhone) and open the Settings menu.
- There we will Wallet.
- Then click on the option «Add Card».
- select «Request Apple Car».
- Next we enter the data they ask of us and we make the request.
Some of the options that we must configure in this last step are these:
- Apple Card as default card for Apple Pay.
- Physical Apple Card to pay without Apple Pay.
If we choose the physical card request option, it will be sent to our address within a maximum period of one week.
Price and conditions
One of the great advantages of this Apple card is that it does not involve any expense for the user. There is no maintenance fee, nor are commissions charged for operations, something that is usually common in other cards. You also do not have to pay anything to register, nor to request the physical card.
As for interest applied when making purchases on credit, the percentage is established based on each case. Taking the statistics of the card in the United States as a reference (not necessarily extrapolated to the rest of the countries), the figure ranges between 13% and 24% APR. They are really high interests.
How to integrate the card into the iPhone
Although there is the possibility of having the physical card, many users prefer to integrate it into their iPhone and use it comfortably from their mobile phone. Actually, this is the way to get the most out of Apple Card.
The process to add the Apple Card to Apple Pay is really simple. You just have to follow the instructions explained in the previous sections. When we have our card linked to the Apple payment app, buying will be much easier.
Advantages and disadvantages of the Apple Card
Like any other card, the Apple Card has pros and cons. Before deciding to request it for our private use (when such a thing is possible), it is advisable to know in detail what its pros and cons are:
Pros
Among the main advantages of using this card we can highlight the following:
- Saving. Thanks to the function Daily Cash, it is possible to recover a percentage (between 1% and 2%) of our purchases made with the card. This percentage rises to 3% if it involves purchases in the Apple store.
- Security. The physical card hardly shows data or information that could be used by criminals in case of loss or theft. On the other hand, operations can only be carried out through Touch ID/Face ID, which adds extra privacy and security.
Against
The drawbacks that we may encounter when using the Apple card are these:
- It is only available for iPhone users. For those who do not have an Apple device, this card will be of no use.
- It is only available in the United States, although this is an aspect that could be different within the future.
When will the Apple Card arrive in Spain?
Apple has expressed on many occasions its clear intention to expand its card to other markets outside the US borders. He main obstacle For this to become a reality is the need to find a reliable partner in each of the countries where the Apple Card is to be implemented. The equivalent of Goldman Sachs in the United States.
According to rumors, That possible partner in Spain could be Santander. Although there is nothing official about it, there is a good chance that this could be true, if we take into account that this Spanish bank was the first bank to adopt Apple Pay in our country. Without a doubt, a good precedent.
What does seem clear is that this landing of the Apple Card in Spain is not going to occur this year, nor the next. This is a project that we will see crystallize in the medium-long term.
Editor specialized in technology and internet issues with more than ten years of experience in different digital media. I have worked as an editor and content creator for e-commerce, communication, online marketing and advertising companies. I have also written on economics, finance and other sectors websites. My work is also my passion. Now, through my articles in Tecnobits, I try to explore all the news and new opportunities that the world of technology offers us every day to improve our lives.