Is Apple Launching a New Credit Card?
An image of a new credit card from technology company Apple made the rounds last week on the internet, creating a new sensation and triggering hundreds of articles and buzz about Apple’s possible entry into the credit card market. Days later, though, it does not appear as though Apple is making a legitimate entry into the credit card market.
Apple does seem to have its eyes set on the mobile payments market, however. Analysts say that the iPhone, iPad, and iTunes work as a new way for Apple to break in to consumers’ wallets. Apple users have to connect a credit card to use iTunes, which is the app and music store for all Apple devices. Once a user downloads an app or song, Apple has their credit card information, making it a middleman in the giant online market for digital media.
A future move could send Apple looking to tap into credit card spending offline as well. As the company has some 400 million credit cards on file, it is competing with Google and Facebook to collect and store as many credit card numbers as possible. Eventually these tech titans hope that they’ll become the new center of online and offline commerce, taking a slice of every purchase made on iTunes, each transaction on Google Wallet, and every sale on a future Facebook store.
So far, an Apple credit card looks highly unlikely, but a new payment method from Apple looks like certainty.
