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I have read up on it but I don't get the appeal (i.e. what the benefits are). My US bank allows me to write checks (I don't actually have a checkbook, but I us

by gumby 4y ago

I have read up on it but I don't get the appeal (i.e. what the benefits are). My US bank allows me to write checks (I don't actually have a checkbook, but I use bill pay which it will do electronically if it can and by issuing a paper check if not) and make various transfers, like Zelle. This has comparatively very limited payment capability. How would you pay your mortgage? There are even very strict restrictions on moving your cash out! It does have a higher interest rate than some banks, at least at the moment, but you can get these rates from competitors without the other limitations. In general all the current Apple banking offers (apple card, apple cash, apple savings account) seem pretty meh, and definitely far from great, much less "insanely great". The only Apple financial product I consider even worth remembering was financing your mac purchase back in 1984. It's also a weird space for Apple to get into: it's highly regulated, has limited (at best) connection/leverage/flywheel with the rest of their product line or company capability, and doesn't even use anything apple-specific (not even their enormous cash horde).

fckgw 4y ago
I have an Apple card. I had a few hundred bucks in Apple Cash I earned from cash back just sitting there doing nothing so I swept it off into Apple Savings so sit there and do nothing but at least earn a little interest on it. I'd imagine the majority of the new accounts have done this as well. It's a secondary, not primary, banking account.
- aeadio 4y ago
  Were you not aware you could transfer that cash to a normal checking account?
  - catchnear4321 4y ago
    What normal checking account pays those rates? Sure, you could then bounce it to a savings account that pays those rates, or better. The rate isn’t everything. Apple created a very friendly path of least resistance.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
r00fus 4y ago
FYI Apple Card / Apple Savings are run by Goldman Sachs & Apple. So I'm guessing they found some value in this operation. I agree its offering is very mid (just like Apple Card) so I don't use it but for some opening a new account elsewhere is challenging.
- gumby 4y ago
  Goldman's recent earnings report said they were taking a bath on their foray into the consumer sector, having lost $3B in the process, with a half a billion on consumer loans alone.* I don't imagine they'd be doing the Apple bank account if they weren't contractually obligated. Or maybe they just think there's a hope for some Apple pixie dust. * https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/18/business/goldman-sachs-1q-2023-earnings.html https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/18/business/goldman-sachs-1q...
  - astrange 4y ago
    Some of this is weird accounting stuff - I think they can't recognize income yet because they committed themselves to holding off some of it as insurance against credit card defaults.
  - r00fus 4y ago
    Is it possible GS needs Apple to get entry into the consumer (non-money-market) market, possibly to provide the needed liquidity/cover for their institutional investments? In that case, it's an R&D expense for them they can simply write off.
blinded 4y ago
put 100k at 4% vs what a savings account at a bank gives you thats a grocery bill a month in profit.
- dustincoates 4y ago
  But why would you put $100k in savings? There are so many better places that are going to get you more than a monthly grocery bill over time.
  - frumper 4y ago
    If you're looking to use that 100k soon, maybe for a new house, or saving to start a business, then you want very safe and liquid options. 4% is close enough to other safe options that if it's easy then that's good enough for some people.
    - gumby 4y ago
      Money market is completely liquid.
      - frumper 4y ago
        > But why would you put $100k in savings? There are so many better places that are going to get you more than a monthly grocery bill over time. If someone is sitting on 100k in savings, there isn't much of a practical difference to moving it to a money market. The rates aren't significantly different. Some banks have higher savings rates, some higher money market rates. That makes other things your deciding factors such as the trust in a brand, quality of life, ease of use.
        astrange 4y ago
        Savings accounts are tax-disadvantaged; interest is taxed like ordinary income. I'm not sure about money market funds, but municipal/treasury bonds don't have that problem. Remember, taxes are designed to benefit rich passive investors, so you gotta act like one.
fakedang 4y ago
Apple's value add is like Vercel's value add (drawing from the other thread on the front page) - user experience for people who can't be bothered to deal with all the hard bad stuff. It will work up to a certain limit, but once you want the slightest of extra features, you're going to land in a tough spot.
anecdotal1 4y ago
It's a savings account not a checking account.
Larrikin 4y ago
I hate my Apple card and can't imagine using it for anything outside of buying Apple products. I own an apple computer and an iPad, but I can only check my payments and check my balance on my iPad. I can't connect the card to my budgeting software so I have to enter transactions in manually. If I were to use it daily, I would have to enter so many transactions manually. Obviously I can't pay for things on my Android phone The cards cash back offers no advantage over other cards outside of buying Apple products directly from Apple and getting a year to pay for products interest free.
eek2121 4y ago
It's daily cash from the Apple Card. All your daily cash (1-3% cashback from Apple card purchases) automatically lands in the account. Also, Apple does not manage these accounts. Goldman Sachs does. I figured I wouldn't use it, but having the cashback automatically get dropped in savings is an actual godsend. It may actually promote better savings habits for some folks.

by gumby 4y ago

fckgw 4y ago

I have an Apple card. I had a few hundred bucks in Apple Cash I earned from cash back just sitting there doing nothing so I swept it off into Apple Savings so sit there and do nothing but at least earn a little interest on it. I'd imagine the majority of the new accounts have done this as well. It's a secondary, not primary, banking account.

aeadio 4y ago
Were you not aware you could transfer that cash to a normal checking account?
- catchnear4321 4y ago
  What normal checking account pays those rates? Sure, you could then bounce it to a savings account that pays those rates, or better. The rate isn’t everything. Apple created a very friendly path of least resistance.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

r00fus 4y ago

FYI Apple Card / Apple Savings are run by Goldman Sachs & Apple. So I'm guessing they found some value in this operation. I agree its offering is very mid (just like Apple Card) so I don't use it but for some opening a new account elsewhere is challenging.

gumby 4y ago
Goldman's recent earnings report said they were taking a bath on their foray into the consumer sector, having lost $3B in the process, with a half a billion on consumer loans alone.* I don't imagine they'd be doing the Apple bank account if they weren't contractually obligated. Or maybe they just think there's a hope for some Apple pixie dust. * https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/18/business/goldman-sachs-1q-2023-earnings.html https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/18/business/goldman-sachs-1q...
- astrange 4y ago
  Some of this is weird accounting stuff - I think they can't recognize income yet because they committed themselves to holding off some of it as insurance against credit card defaults.
- r00fus 4y ago
  Is it possible GS needs Apple to get entry into the consumer (non-money-market) market, possibly to provide the needed liquidity/cover for their institutional investments? In that case, it's an R&D expense for them they can simply write off.

blinded 4y ago

put 100k at 4% vs what a savings account at a bank gives you thats a grocery bill a month in profit.

dustincoates 4y ago
But why would you put $100k in savings? There are so many better places that are going to get you more than a monthly grocery bill over time.
- frumper 4y ago
  If you're looking to use that 100k soon, maybe for a new house, or saving to start a business, then you want very safe and liquid options. 4% is close enough to other safe options that if it's easy then that's good enough for some people.
  - gumby 4y ago
    Money market is completely liquid.
    - frumper 4y ago
      > But why would you put $100k in savings? There are so many better places that are going to get you more than a monthly grocery bill over time. If someone is sitting on 100k in savings, there isn't much of a practical difference to moving it to a money market. The rates aren't significantly different. Some banks have higher savings rates, some higher money market rates. That makes other things your deciding factors such as the trust in a brand, quality of life, ease of use.
      - astrange 4y ago
        Savings accounts are tax-disadvantaged; interest is taxed like ordinary income. I'm not sure about money market funds, but municipal/treasury bonds don't have that problem. Remember, taxes are designed to benefit rich passive investors, so you gotta act like one.

fakedang 4y ago

Apple's value add is like Vercel's value add (drawing from the other thread on the front page) - user experience for people who can't be bothered to deal with all the hard bad stuff. It will work up to a certain limit, but once you want the slightest of extra features, you're going to land in a tough spot.

anecdotal1 4y ago

It's a savings account not a checking account.

Larrikin 4y ago

I hate my Apple card and can't imagine using it for anything outside of buying Apple products. I own an apple computer and an iPad, but I can only check my payments and check my balance on my iPad. I can't connect the card to my budgeting software so I have to enter transactions in manually. If I were to use it daily, I would have to enter so many transactions manually. Obviously I can't pay for things on my Android phone The cards cash back offers no advantage over other cards outside of buying Apple products directly from Apple and getting a year to pay for products interest free.

eek2121 4y ago

It's daily cash from the Apple Card. All your daily cash (1-3% cashback from Apple card purchases) automatically lands in the account. Also, Apple does not manage these accounts. Goldman Sachs does. I figured I wouldn't use it, but having the cashback automatically get dropped in savings is an actual godsend. It may actually promote better savings habits for some folks.