Tech giant Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) are teaming up to launch a credit card, breaking new ground for both firms.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, the new card will integrate with Apple’s iPhone and provide features to track spending, set savings targets, and manage balances through its Wallet app.
READ: Apple hints at cutting iPhone prices to address sluggish sales after disappointing quarter
The move provides a direct challenge to new banks like Monzo, which already offers similar features through its own banking app and bright-orange debit cards.
The credit card is to be tested on employees of both companies in the next few weeks, with an official launch planned in the US later this year.
For Apple, the move represents a shift toward a more diversified business model following a series of setbacks for its retail arm, with iPhone sales falling 15% last quarter amid a slowdown in its core Chinese market, leaving it mulling the prospect of price cuts.
The company is also moving into video streaming, with its own service expected to launch this year in a challenge to industry dominator Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX).
The credit card itself would allow Apple to take a larger cut of transaction fees than it currently gets from its existing payment service Apple Pay, although the WSJ noted that the new product could potentially anger Apple’s banking partners who account for the bulk of the transactions that currently go through Apple Pay.
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Goldman, meanwhile, will be building on its efforts to attract more retail banking customers as it widens its repertoire from investment banking.
The new credit card, which will be Goldman’s first, follows the launch of its Marcus savings account in the UK last September.