Why Apple Is Giving Away $100 'Goodwill Bonus' To Some Of Its Savings Account Customers

With just four days of its launch in April this year, Apple's savings account had already seen nearly $1 billion in deposits. That in itself shows the craze people have for the tech giant's products and services, including the already popular iPhone, Macbook, Apple card and others.

Apple Savings Account Users' Complaints

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But it seems that the road has been rocky for this new service from Apple, as it was reported last month that some Apple card savings account users were facing week-long delays when trying to transfer money from an Apple savings account to an external bank account.

A Wall Street Journal report in June highlighted some major growing pains for Apple's savings account, despite it offering an attractive 4.15% p.a. interest rate (which is higher than most of India¡¯s major banks' rates. Apple also claims that the rate is 10 times the national average in the US.

Some customers experienced weeks of delays while attempting to shift funds from their Apple savings account to another bank. Some even recounted receiving varying instructions on how to carry out transfers, differing by the external bank involved. In certain instances, money seemed to have evaporated during the transition, with the balance becoming mysteriously inaccessible in both the savings account and the destination bank account.

Also Read: Why Apple Is Forcing A 111-Year-Old Fruit Company To Change Its Logo

Apple Giving Away $100 As 'Goodwill Credit' To Affected Customers

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In response to customers' complaints, Apple is now reportedly offering a $100 'goodwill credit' to the affected users. That is approximately Rs 8,200.

Apple has emailed at least some of the Apple Card Savings Account users affected by these delays to offer them a $100 ¡°goodwill credit'. According to a report from MacRumors, some customers are seeing a "goodwill" credit appear in their Apple Savings¡±. In an email to those users, Apple said:

The experience we provided for a withdrawal request you made for your Savings account in May did not meet our standards. Thank you for your patience while we completed our internal reviews. We are making a one-time goodwill bonus of $100 to your Savings account as a courtesy to you for this experience. You will see this deposit in Wallet as ¡°Adjustment-Credit¡±.

Customers moving small amounts of money won't have encountered this problem. It seems to have affected some users transferring over $1,000 and could cause five days or more of delays, as per an Apple Insider report.

Goldman Sachs stated that customers encountering these delays triggered the anti-money laundering system. Since Apple Savings launched in April, big withdrawals in May sent up red flags. It isn't clear exactly who is getting this adjustment credit. Those who do will receive an official email.

Apple & Goldman Sachs Update Their Policy

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Tim Cook-led Apple and Goldman Sachs have also updated the Apple Card Savings Account Deposit Agreement. First, the companies have added a new clarification that ACH transfers take up to three business days to process. Previously, the agreement did not include any details on the processing times, as per the report.

Note that the processing time, however, does not refer to the time it takes for the money to move to the external account. It refers to the amount of time it takes for Goldman Sachs to process and approve the transfer, at which point the actual transfer of funds occurs.

Goldman Sachs Looking To Drop Out Of Apple Partnership?

There have been reports that even though Goldman Sachs has had a successful yet tumultuous relationship with Apple since it partnered with the company for Apple Card, it seems that the banking giant wants to exit the consumer lending business, which could leave Apple looking for other partners like American Express, or perhaps taking its financing in-house.

Also Read: How A Lost iPhone Led To Warren Buffett Investing Billions In Apple

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