Apple Card hits 6.4 million subscribers by signing up women

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Apple Card’s ‘elite card’ status is hitting retailers in the wallet
The Apple Card is in about twice as many wallets as it was a year ago.
Photo: Apple

Since its debut in 2019, the number of Apple Card users has grown to 6.4 million, according to analysts. That’s over two times the total using the credit card a year ago. And much of the growth has been among women.

Cornerstone Advisors surveyed credit card holders in December 2020, after doing the same the year before. The group recently estimated the current number of Apple Card holders at 6.4 million, according to Forbes.

Women get on the Apple Card bandwagon

In late 2019, just 25% of the people holding the card were women. A year later, that figure had grown to 42%. That’s a success considering there were early accusations that the card was biased against women. An investigation later found no evidence to back up those claims, however.

The recent creation of Apple Card Family allows spouses to build a credit history with the card, even if they aren’t the primary card holder. That’s likely to appeal to women as well.

Apple Card remains a digital-first credit card. No paper statements get mailed to customers each month, with such matters primarily handled on an iPhone. So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that 70% of Apple Card users fall between the ages of 20 and 40 years old, according to Cornerstone.

National laws slow growth

Currently, Apple Card is available only in the United States. It would undoubtedly have more subscribers if it was offered in additional countries. But availability depends heavily on local laws about credit card interchange fees.

Take the U.K., for example. It severely limits the fees credit cards can charge merchants to make transactions. That means Apple Card would lose money if it offered U.K. users the same 1% back on transactions as it does U.S. card holders.

Still, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, the bank that backs Cupertino’s credit card, is on record wanting to expand Apple Card to additional countries.

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