Apple launches savings account for US customers offering 4% interest rate

Apple Card customers in the United States can now open a savings account and earn interest through an Apple savings account.

The new feature enables Apple Card users to grow their Daily Cash rewards with a savings account from Goldman Sachs that offers a high-yield APY of 4.15 per cent, a rate that's more than 10 times the national average.

The savings account requires no fees, no minimum deposits and balance requirements, and can be set up and managed directly from Apple Card.

Jennifer Bailey, Apple's vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, said, "Savings helps our users get even more value out of their favourite Apple Card benefit - Daily Cash - while providing them with an easy way to save money every day. Our goal is to build tools that help users lead healthier financial lives and building Savings into Apple Card in Wallet enables them to spend, send and save Daily Cash directly and seamlessly - all from one place."

Once the savings account is set up, all future Daily Cash earned by the user will be automatically deposited into the account. The Daily Cash destination can also be changed at any time, and there's no limit on how much Daily Cash users can earn. Users can deposit additional funds into their savings account through a linked bank account or from their Apple Cash balance to build on their savings even further.

Users will be able to track their account balance and interest earned through a dashboard in wallet. They will also be able to withdraw funds at any time through the Savings dashboard by transferring them to a linked bank account or to their Apple Cash card, with no additional fees.

Apple has partnered with Goldman Sachs for the banking feature, and savings accounts are technically managed by Goldman Sachs, which means that balances are covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

This new high-yield savings account is exclusively created for Apple Card customers. When customers pay with their Apple Card, they get cashback on all purchases. By default, all purchases grant users 1 per cent in cash rewards and 2 per cent for all purchases made using Apple Pay. Purchases with select merchants unlock 3 per cent in rewards.

Customers receive cash rewards every day into Apple Cash, which appears in the wallet app and works like a checking account. The Apple Cash balance can be used to pay for things using Apple Pay, for their credit card balance or to send money to friends and family members. Customers can also transfer their Apple Cash balance to a regular bank account.