Finance Monthly September 2019 Edition

50 www.finance-monthly.com FINANCIAL INNOVATION & FINTECH - THE NEW APPLE CARD But, really, this is about a tech company moving into banking by launching a credit card. The card, albeit revolutionary for Apple’s product line, is fairly similar to products offered by challenger banks such as Monzo and Starling Bank. The new credit card allows users to pay for products through an extension of Apple Pay; only rather than Apple Pay acting as a vehicle for other payment cards and services, it will allow users to use the Apple credit card. Although this may seem like an easy sell for Apple, as the credit card is a simple add-on for existing iPhone users, the success of the new service will be based on the company’s ability to convince consumers to switch current accounts. Even for the likes of Apple, with its huge resources and strong established brand, this will be a difficult and challenging task. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in February found that only 3% of people switch bank accounts in any one year and in the US the Retail Banking Satisfaction Study found that 4% of consumers switched primary banks in 2018. The rollout of the much-anticipated Apple Card unleashed an avalanche of media coverage only a few months after a pre-launch announcement stirred up a similar media frenzy. It’s the Apple mystique. Everything it does is seen as larger than life. HOW APPLE CAN CONVINCE CONSUMERS TO USE THE NEW APPLE CARD Juliet Du Vivier, Head of Planning at Global Marketing Agency, ForwardPMX www.forwardpmx.com