The Apple credit card got an update and now it can be shared and merged with family members, CEO Tim Cook revealed.
The Cupertino tech giant, which held its Spring Loaded event on Tuesday, introduced Apple Card Family, a set of features designed to make it easier for families to track spending and help “deliver financial equity.”
The Apple Card Family will allow “spouses and partners to share and merge their credit lines, have equal rights on their account and build credit equally,” Cook said.
As part of the Apple Card Family, Cook also revealed that the credit card can “now be used by anyone in your family over the age of 13, with optional spending limits and controls for kids.”
Users who are 18 years of age or older would be co-owner of a shared Apple Card account enabling them to build credit history and utilize credit reporting. Those 13 to 17 years old would be added as participants on the shared Apple Card account.
Managing the card can be done through the Wallet app on iPhones with up to five additional members who are part of the same Family Sharing group.
Each user will earn their own Daily Cash cashback for the purchases they make on their Apple Cards. Existing Apple Card users who merge their credit cards could gain the “flexibility of a higher shared credit limit while keeping the lower APR of the two accounts,” Cook said.
The Apple Card Family feature will be available in May for Apple Card users in the US once they update to the latest version of iOS 14.5.
Commenting on the new launch, Apple Pay VP Jennifer Bailey said, “We designed Apple Card Family because we saw an opportunity to reinvent how spouses, partners, and the people you trust most share credit cards and build credit together.
“There’s been a lack of transparency and consumer understanding in the way credit scores are calculated when there are two users of the same credit card since the primary account holder receives the benefit of building a strong credit history while the other does not. Apple Card Family lets people build their credit history together equally.”
The Apple Card was introduced in 2019 as part of a partnership with Goldman Sachs. The card, which has no annual fee or charges for foreign transactions or late payments, offers daily cashback on purchases.
Last month, Apple and partner Goldman Sachs were investigated for any gender bias in how they build credit scoring in the Apple Card. However, the New York State Department of Financial Services found Apple’s banking partner did not discriminate based on sex.
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