Apple's latest invention: Yes it's a savings account

[hegemony]

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/13/apple-goldman-sachs-introduce-interest-bearing-savings-accounts.html

Edited October 14, 2022 by hegemony

[Burgerwars]

Maybe Marcus isn't going bye-bye.  😕

 

 

 

[PotO]

On 10/14/2022 at 10:16 PM, hegemony said:

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/13/apple-goldman-sachs-introduce-interest-bearing-savings-accounts.html

 

Makes sense.  Some people collect a lot of Apple Cash and earning interest will inspire more to do so.

[rpina1]

Ironic to have a savings account using an Iphone that is not paid off (for most people).

 

[Morpheus1967]

2 hours ago, rpina1 said:

Ironic to have a savings account using an Iphone that is not paid off (for most people).

 

Why pay it off when I can make payments, that are interest free?  Meanwhile, I can use the money I didn't use to pay it off and earn interest on that.  

[Burgerwars]

10 hours ago, rpina1 said:

Ironic to have a savings account using an Iphone that is not paid off (for most people).

 

 

It looks like another Apple gimmick.  iSheep will be using the app to save for their next Apple product that they don't need,  I see Apple offering something like a "whopping" 1% off their next overpriced Apple purchase if they use their Apple Savings.  

Edited October 27, 2022 by Burgerwars

[centex]

8 hours ago, Morpheus1967 said:

Why pay it off when I can make payments, that are interest free?  Meanwhile, I can use the money I didn't use to pay it off and earn interest on that.  

Don't most of the phone companies drag such things out three years, with a lot of people insisting on trading in far sooner, lest they not have whatever the latest offering might be?

 

Personally, I like owning my phone, not making payments on it...and then I keep the phone for several years. 

[hegemony]

3 hours ago, centex said:

Don't most of the phone companies drag such things out three years, with a lot of people insisting on trading in far sooner, lest they not have whatever the latest offering might be?

 

Personally, I like owning my phone, not making payments on it...and then I keep the phone for several years. 

same. I always PIF when I get a new phone, using a card with extra purchase protection

[Morpheus1967]

14 hours ago, centex said:

Don't most of the phone companies drag such things out three years, with a lot of people insisting on trading in far sooner, lest they not have whatever the latest offering might be?

 

Personally, I like owning my phone, not making payments on it...and then I keep the phone for several years. 

But what difference does it make?  We are both paying the SAME PRICE for the phone.  They don't charge you interest when you make monthly payments, so why pay for it all at once? To let them put your money to work for them?

 

If I buy a phone that costs $1,000 and spread the payments out over 3 years, I will pay about $28 a month.  At the end of the three years, I will own the phone, and will have paid $1,000.  Why on earth would you pay it all up front?  Put that $1,000 to work instead.  Hell, you could have even purchased I-bonds and been $100 ahead after a year with the current rates they are paying.  

[hegemony]

22 hours ago, Burgerwars said:

 

It looks like another Apple gimmick.  iSheep will be using the app to save for their next Apple product that they don't need,  I see Apple offering something like a "whopping" 1% off their next overpriced Apple purchase if they use their Apple Savings.  

IDK, if it means I earn a few pennies each month while I wait to apply my apple cash balance to my apple card payment I'm okay with that.

[hegemony]

7 hours ago, Morpheus1967 said:

But what difference does it make?  We are both paying the SAME PRICE for the phone.  They don't charge you interest when you make monthly payments, so why pay for it all at once? To let them put your money to work for them?

 

If I buy a phone that costs $1,000 and spread the payments out over 3 years, I will pay about $28 a month.  At the end of the three years, I will own the phone, and will have paid $1,000.  Why on earth would you pay it all up front?  Put that $1,000 to work instead.  Hell, you could have even purchased I-bonds and been $100 ahead after a year with the current rates they are paying.  

Ballers like @centex don't get out of bed for a few pennies.

 

FWIW, I just don't like the idea of now owning the phone. It creates a liability I'd rather avoid as I am to the point of trying to live a simple life. A similar argument could be made as to why we don't have a mortgage on any of our properties.

[RehabbingANDBlabbing]

Meanwhile, I’m just over here transferring my Apple Daily Cash to my regular bank account all the time. Why let Apple hang onto it? I guess now there’s a reason if they are paying interest. But you can send as little or as much to your bank for free, so why not?

[hegemony]

27 minutes ago, RehabbingANDBlabbing said:

Meanwhile, I’m just over here transferring my Apple Daily Cash to my regular bank account all the time. Why let Apple hang onto it? I guess now there’s a reason if they are paying interest. But you can send as little or as much to your bank for free, so why not?

because I'm lazy AF? 😭

[hegemony]

Walmart Checking and Apple Savings: Different Motivations, Similar Outcomes?

[Burgerwars]

56 minutes ago, hegemony said:

Walmart Checking and Apple Savings: Different Motivations, Similar Outcomes?

 

One thing that caught my interest is 90% of Walmart employees make less than $40,000 per year.  So a full-time $40K worker is making $19.23 an hour. I look at that as a statistic that will discourage people from making a career at Walmart, because stastics show the odds are really against you ever making a very good income. 

Anyway, if a Walmart checking account does get offered, I might apply. I'm a sucker for stuff like this.  

Edited December 6, 2022 by Burgerwars

[StantheMan]

On 10/28/2022 at 6:15 AM, Morpheus1967 said:

But what difference does it make?  We are both paying the SAME PRICE for the phone.  They don't charge you interest when you make monthly payments, so why pay for it all at once? To let them put your money to work for them?

 

If I buy a phone that costs $1,000 and spread the payments out over 3 years, I will pay about $28 a month.  At the end of the three years, I will own the phone, and will have paid $1,000.  Why on earth would you pay it all up front?  Put that $1,000 to work instead.  Hell, you could have even purchased I-bonds and been $100 ahead after a year with the current rates they are paying.  

Your logic makes perfect sense but there are  those that just physiologically feel better out right owning a phone and not having any payments plus being tied to a particular carrier.

Edited December 6, 2022 by StantheMan

[MarvBear]

1 hour ago, BoyPlungg said:

Elon Musk's Twitter is reportedly planning to increase the price of Twitter Blue for Apple Inc users 😅

 

Please tell me why we should care. 

[hegemony]

it is live!!! 4.15% APY

 

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/04/apple-cards-new-high-yield-savings-account-is-now-available-offering-a-4-point-15-percent-apy/

[Burgerwars]

The regular GS/Marcus savings account pays 3.9%, so .25% less. Is the .25% more worth having a savings account tied to the Apple Wallet app? I've never been excited about the Apple Card. It's one a hardly use, but used it today at McDonald's just to keep it active.  

 

Update: Curiosity got to me and I tried to create a savings account in the Wallet App. I followed the directions, clicked the three dots after clicking my credit card then clicked savings to create it, but I got a message that it's not available. Oh, well. 

Edited April 17, 2023 by Burgerwars

[Burgerwars]

This is the problem I had:  https://betanews.com/2023/04/17/signing-up-for-an-apple-savings-account-was-surprisingly-bad

 

Maybe the first day was overloaded as the iSheep were all trying to open an account. I'm not an iSheep. The only reason I have an iPhone is it belongs to my work. I hate it. I use my Android 98.6% of the time.  Maybe I'll try again later today and use my $1 in Apple Cash balance to start things off. I was reading an article yesterday that it's "bad news for banks." I don't think so. Apple isn't a bank and has to use a bank to offer this product and their credit card. Maybe Goldman Sachs Bank can figure out a way to use customers' Apple savings accounts to offset the losses they have from the same customers' delinquent Apple card.  

[Burgerwars]

I tried again today. The first thing I did was pay off my Apple Card for the Big Mac Meal that posted from yesterday. I then was able to open the savings account. It automatically posted my Daily Cash balance of $1.60 from using the credit card. I added another $20 using the same account I pay the credit card from. 

I don't have plans on adding more funds to the account at present. I assume I'll be able to pay my credit card from the savings. I'll try that next time.

 

[hegemony]

16 hours ago, Burgerwars said:

I tried again today. The first thing I did was pay off my Apple Card for the Big Mac Meal that posted from yesterday. I then was able to open the savings account. It automatically posted my Daily Cash balance of $1.60 from using the credit card. I added another $20 using the same account I pay the credit card from. 

I don't have plans on adding more funds to the account at present. I assume I'll be able to pay my credit card from the savings. I'll try that next time.

 

I opened one and then kicked myself as I don't need to add to my collection of annual 1099s.

[FoxSamual]

On 4/18/2023 at 7:18 AM, Burgerwars said:

Maybe the first day was overloaded as the iSheep were all trying to open an account. I'm not an iSheep. The only reason I have an iPhone is it belongs to my work. I hate it. I use my Android 98.6% of the time.

 

The attitude on display here is every bit as obnoxious as the Apple fanboys on the other end of the extreme.  The reality is that both platforms have their pros and cons.  Ditto MacOS vs. Windows vs. Linux.

 

I am an "iSheep" in my personal life (professionally I support all the platforms) because:

1. Google had a quality control issue for many years with the Nexus and Pixel product lines.  This is the only reason I ever gave Apple a chance. Seven warranty claims in two years for my Nexus 6 and 6P.  I don't got time to deal with my phone breaking that often.  The only class action lawsuit that ever gave me real money (over $400) was the one for the Nexus 6P.  That's how big of a turd it was.
   
   Warranty service was "fun" too.  Call the off-shore customer disservice center.  Fight the IVR tree to reach a script reading human.  Work with them for over an hour repeating all the things I did before calling.  Ship the phone to them at my expense.  Wait two weeks to get it back.  I did this seven times!
   
   You know what happens with a defective Apple device under warranty?  You take it to any Apple Store on Planet Earth and walk out with a repaired or replaced device.
   
   This is better now, my partner has a Pixel 6 and its solid, but the Pixel 1 continued the trend of hardware defects and I believe the 2 had them as well.  I talked out her out of buying the 6 when it dropped and waiting a few months to see if reports emerged online of hardware issues.
   
   Google should have kept Motorola Mobility in-house instead of simply raiding them for patents and selling the dried out husk to China.
    
2. Apple has excellent on-shore customer service accessible without a burdensome IVR tree.  This helped convince me to give them a try when dealing with the problems above.  I wasn't their customer, I called in because someone used one of my credit cards for iTunes fraud, and still got white glove treatment from them.
    
3. The iOS security and privacy model is superior to Android's.
    
4. iOS is easier to support.  I can walk my users through every conceivable support issue blind from memory.  I've done it while driving my car with handsfree and not looking at my own phone.  By contrast, every single Android is different, and unless I'm in front of the user it's very difficult to help them.
    
5. Android is frequently ruined by carrier bloat that Apple would never tolerate being put on their phones.
    
6. Android is frequently ruined by OEM bloat.  OEMs frequently replace perfectly functional Android apps with their own inferior versions.  Looking at you Samsung.  Looking at you OG Motorola (RIP; your software was trash but your phones were top notch)
    
7. Apple isn't an advertising company at heart, like Google, and has less incentive to try and monetize the data they have on me.  Granted, Google makes it easy to opt-out of their own data collection, but see #3 above regarding third party apps like Facebook and other data vacuums.
    
8. Apple brought end-to-end encryption to the masses via iMessage and FaceTime.  No, they weren't the first to do it, but they were the first to make it easy.  My Mom can use FaceTime.  Good luck training her how to use Signal or PGP.

 

Things I miss from Android:

 

1. Visibility under the hood.  I'm in the cell mapping community.  I can't do that with iPhone, the relevant data isn't accessible to user space applications, because of the privacy/security model.  I keep Androids on hand for this but it's not the same as having one with me 24/7 and mapping without additional work.
    
2. Customization.  For the most part Apple's UI does what I need but there are a handful of things I would change.  Nope.  You do things the Apple way or else.  This is a lot of fun when when they suddenly change something and your muscle memory is all wrong.
    
3. Rooting, mostly because I'm a Linux nerd at heart, but also for a few features you could unlock (e.g., tethering without limit).  You can jailbreak an iPhone but it's not the same and I've never bothered.
    
4. Google Photos.  Google just does photos better than Apple, they have for 15+ years.  While you can use Google Photos on iPhone (and I do) it's not the same experience.  The native (screw OEMs who replace it!) camera app is a bit better on current Android, IMHO, although Apple is improving.

 

Hardware wise they're about a wash these days, at least where flagship models are concerned.  One or the other might have a brief advantage when the latest model drops but it doesn't last long.

 

Also, all that said, there's very little chance I'd open this savings account.  It's within 0.25% of my existing HYSA.  The wallet UI is probably better, the webpage for my HYSA is pretty damned basic, but who cares?  It's a savings account.  I've had enough negative experiences with my Apple Card to make me leery of getting into bed with Goldman Sachs for additional products and services.

 

Also, as a general rule of thumb, I try to keep a firewall between deposit accounts and unsecured creditors.

 

Edited April 19, 2023 by FoxSamual

[Burgerwars]

3 hours ago, hegemony said:

I opened one and then kicked myself as I don't need to add to my collection of annual 1099s.

 

Keep the account at $22 like me. You'll never hit $10 in annual interest to trigger a 1099.   

[hegemony]

3 hours ago, FoxSamual said:

 

 

 

Also, as a general rule of thumb, I try to keep a firewall between deposit accounts and unsecured creditors.

 

that is strange. I mean, perhaps with CUs but even then only if I knew I was about to default on unsecured credit.