JPMorgan Chase reaches deal to become Apple credit card issuer, source says

JPMorgan Chase has reached a deal to take over the Apple credit card from its original issuer, Goldman Sachs, according to a person with knowledge of the transaction.

The arrangement, to be announced publicly soon after a year of negotiations between the parties, means that a giant in credit cards and retail banking overall will grow even larger.

JPMorgan will take over roughly $20 billion in card loans from Goldman, which began to pivot away from consumer finance in 2022.

The deal, further enmeshing JPMorgan with a dominant tech player, burnishes the bank’s reputation as a leader in American finance. Even before this deal, it was already the country’s largest credit card issuer by purchase volume.

For Goldman, offloading the Apple Card business helps it move past a rocky chapter for CEO David Solomon. Goldman entered the credit card business with great fanfare in 2019 by beating out other issuers for the Apple Card.

In July, CNBC reported that talks between JPMorgan and Apple had progressed, with JPMorgan being the last bank standing after other interested issuers including American Express, Synchrony and Barclays exited.

At the time, people with knowledge of the matter said that JPMorgan would only take on the Apple card portfolio if Goldman and Apple were willing to make concessions.

It appears as though JPMorgan succeeded on at least one front; it is taking over the Apple Card portfolio at a discount of more than $1 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the deal.

That’s because the portfolio contains more subprime and lower-credit borrowers than JPMorgan would usually serve, people with knowledge of the business have told CNBC. Apple wanted Goldman to service as many of its iPhone users as possible, the sources have said.

JPMorgan is also planning to offer an Apple savings account as part of a bundle of financial services the tech giant offers.

JPMorgan and Goldman declined to comment.