Apple was examining the potential of introducing a feature on the iPhone that allowed its users to purchase and sell shares, according to three people with knowledge of the scheme. The concept was to be executed in conjunction with Goldman Sachs, which has previously collaborated with Apple on related financial products. Nonetheless, with the stock market in a downturn, Apple concluded the time was not opportune and consequently suspended the project, the sources explained.
Even as stocks rose in 2020 and investors benefited from the rise of trading applications like Robinhood, Apple, together with Goldman Sachs, had put in motion a strategy to let customers buy and sell assets. This was revealed by three people with knowledge of the plan who wished to remain anonymous since they were not given the right to discuss the topic.
However, this project was put on hold due to the downturn in markets. Representatives from both Apple and Goldman Sachs declined to comment when contacted.
This endeavour has not yet been revealed publicly, and if executed, it would have been an addition to the chain of Apple’s financial services assisted by Goldman Sachs. In the year 2019, the two giants had first begun their relationship with a credit card launch, and then went on to introduce loans to be paid in installments and a savings account delivering high yields. Apple reported last month that the mentioned savings account had gained an impressive $10 billion in deposits.
At the time of zero interest rates during Covid, with people stuck at home and spending more of their time and their record savings trading shares, Apple had been working on an investing feature. This included the potential for iPhone users to invest in Apple shares. However, when market conditions shifted with a rise in rate and inflation, the team feared user backlash in the event of potential losses in the stock market. In response, Apple and Goldman Sachs changed their plans to focus on savings accounts, which benefit from higher rates. The future of the stock-trading project is now uncertain following Goldman Sachs CEO's decision to cease most consumer efforts. However, the infrastructure for investing is in place and may be put into action should Apple decide to go forward with it.Three years ago, Apple Card launched with much fanfare, but it brought regulatory heat and losses as user base grew. This year, Goldman offered high-interest savings accounts to Apple Card users with an annual percentage yield of 4.15%. They were also central to Apple's "Buy Now, Pay Later" (BNPL) program, Apple Pay Later. Users could split a purchase of $50-100 into four payments over six weeks with no interest or fees. Goldman explored possible avenues to expand their partnership with Apple and had been in talks to transfer ownership of the card and savings account to American Express.
Apple was also exploring the stock trading app market - with competition from Robinhood, SoFi, Square's Block, Charles Schwab, Morgan Stanley's E-Trade, and others - as a way to keep customers and increase platform engagement. However, this move was likely to draw the attention of regulators, just as Robinhood had for its “gamifying” of financial markets. Elon Musk's X (formerly known as Twitter), had plans to let users buy stocks and cryptocurrencies through a partnership with eToro, and when PayPal hired an industry executive to launch a stock trading app in 2021, it had to abandon those plans in order to refocus on the core e-commerce business.
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