Apple is now testing its upcoming Apple Card credit card with thousands of Apple retail workers, reports Bloomberg. The card, to be delivered in partnership with Goldman Sachs, will launch this summer.
Testing had been limited to corporate employees, but Apple is now expanding testing to a much larger group of testers via an internal beta program that launched earlier this week.
The expansion marks the first wide-scale test of the new card, allowing Apple to work out the bugs and other issues before launching the program to the general public.
Employees can sign up directly from their personal devices. The Apple Pay piece of the card is activated immediately and the physical card is then scheduled to be sent within 2 to 3 weeks. APRs being offered to the employees are in the same range consumers will be offered, between 13.24% and 24.24%.
Although Apple employees have been told not to discuss the card, they are allowed to use it to make purchases in public.
Screenshots of the employee beta of the Apple Card show that test versions of the card are fully functional and include the ability to receive daily cash back, pay bills, see an order status for a physical card and receive technical support via text messaging. Users can also schedule payments, access their credit limit and manage connected bank accounts, among other tasks. Users will also have the ability to set the Apple Card as the default payment method for Apple purchases.
Apple Card gives customers easy-to-understand, real-time views of their latest transactions and balance right in Wallet, and Apple Card support is available 24/7 by simply sending a text from Messages.
Apple Card uses machine learning and Apple Maps to clearly label transactions with merchant names and locations. Users will see their purchases automatically totaled and organized by color into color-coded categories such as Shopping, Entertainment, Food and Drink, and many more. Customers will receive weekly and monthly spending summaries.
There are no fees associated with the new card: no annual, late, international or over-the-limit fees. If a customer misses a payment, they will not be charged a penalty rate.
In addition, in order to help customers make informed charges, the card shows a range of payment options and calculates the interest cost on different payment amounts in real time.
Apple is partnering with Goldman Sachs and Mastercard to provide the support of an issuing bank and global payments network.
