Date: 3rd August 2019
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. posted on its website on Friday that the Apple credit card will not be allowed to be used to buy cryptocurrency. This was part of the customer agreement that the company published on Friday.
The customer agreement of the Apple Card listed the cash advances that cannot be purchased using the card. These included cryptocurrencies, race track wagers, casino gaming chips and lottery tickets. Neither Apple nor Goldman Sachs commented on the matter when asked about the same by reporters.
The launch of the Apple Card is seen as the attempt to diversify the revenue streams of the tech giant as the sales of its iPhone dropped by 12 percent the last quarter. The company seemed to depend mostly on the sales of its iPhone prior to the launch of the card.
On the other hand, Goldman’s partnership with Apple is its effort to develop a more consumer-facing business.
There are many other banks that have disallowed the purchase of cryptocurrencies with the use of credit cards. Besides Apple and Goldman Sachs, Virgin Money VM.L and Lloyds Banking Group Plc are a couple of banks in the US and the UK to have banned the purchase of cryptocurrencies since last year. This came after giants in the banking industry including Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase & Co did the same in recent times.
The ban on the purchase of cryptocurrencies has been put in place since banks are concerned that customers may not be able to pay off their debts in certain circumstances. This is because the prices of the cryptocurrencies are expected to be highly volatile considering the past trends.
