JPMorgan Chase is on the verge of closing a deal to replace Goldman Sachs as issuer for the Apple credit card, according to reports.
The two firms are nearing an arrangement on the Apple Card portfolio, according to the Wall Street Journal. CNBC says that while an agreement is likely, JPMorgan is asking for concessions on how that card is serviced.
Apple launched its credit card with Goldman Sachs in 2019 but by 2023 the Wall Street bank was looking to ditch the portfolio as part of its retreat from the consumer markets, an ill-fated venture which has saddled the investment bank with huge losses from its investments.
JPMorgan Chase has long been rumoured as a potential replacement, although in September 2024 reports suggested that it was seeking to pay less than face value for the roughly $17 billion in loans on the Apple Card owing to higher-than-average delinquencies and defaults on the portfolio.
Questions around credit quality have made the portfolio less attractive to issuers at a time when there are concerns the US economy could be headed for a slowdown.
JPMorgan is also understood to be seeking to abandon Apple Card's calendar-based billing feature, in which all customers get statements at the start of the month rather than staggered throughout the period. While appealing to customers, the feature puts a huge burden on service personnel who have to field multiple calls at the same time every month.
Despite these concerns, an agreement now appears to be close, with other potential issuers, including Barclays and Synchrony Financial, falling by the wayside.
Earlier this year, the Journal also reported that Visa has offered Apple $100 million to take over the card partnership from Mastercard.