Apple Card savings account APR is now the lowest ever
Starting today, the Apple Card savings account interest rate will be brought to its lowest ever APR, falling below the number at its inception even. The Federal Reserve recently lowered its base interest rate two basic points, or by half a percent, much to the joy of those who'd like to refinance their mortgages, and to the chagrin of thrifty spenders everywhere.
Apple introduced a savings account to go with its credit card offering last spring, and its interest rate peaked at 4.5% at the beginning of the year, when the Fed's hawkish spree brought the highest rates in decades.
With inflation in check and the job market wobbly, however, the Federal Reserve decided to cut the base interest rate and savings accounts followed. Apple lowered the APR on its card several times since then, starting at 4.4%, then 4.25%, and, now, at just 4.1% according to MacRumors, which is actually a tad lower than the 4.15% APR that the Apple Card team debuted its savings account at.
There are some banks or other financial institutions that give more than that, up to 5%, but the overall trend is rather towards the 4% mark if the Fed's lower interest rate stays like that. A very strong jobs report, however, and a surprise inflation uptick might change the equation, or force the Federal Reserve's hand in keeping its sole interest rate cut for the foreseeable future.
The Apple Card administrators from Goldman Sachs have expressed their reservations about the viability of the business, though, and are looking to offload it to someone else. While a credit card offering makes sense for Apple, the initial excitement of Goldman Sachs may have cooled off, and it has talked Apple into a step on the gas when it comes to subscriptions and incentives like the connected savings account.
Goldman's initial outlay to set up a credit card business with is still not recouped, and it may even be losing money on its retail banking effort while Apple is trying to fulfil its promise to reinvent the world of credit cards.
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