Benzinga - Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) launched its high-yield savings account in late April to great acclaim. However, recent reports suggest that the offering has encountered some obstacles along the way.
What Happened: Customers of Apple’s high-yield savings account, offered in partnership with Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS), are experiencing difficulties withdrawing their funds, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
One customer based outside Atlanta struggled to transfer $1,700 from their Apple account to JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) since May 15. Despite repeated attempts and contacts with Goldman’s customer service, the transfer was repeatedly delayed.
After the Journal intervened, the customer finally succeeded in transferring the amount on Thursday. Similar issues were reported by other customers, with funds disappearing from their Apple accounts without appearing in the destination accounts.
Goldman Sachs dismissed these incidents as isolated events, attributing the delays to their security measures designed to protect customer accounts. Transfers in new accounts often trigger anti-money-laundering alerts, causing delays of approximately five days, the company stated.
The report also highlighted a customer who faced a 25-day delay in transferring money from their Apple account and another customer who failed to complete a transaction and resorted to selling stock holdings to meet expenses before ultimately closing their Apple account.
Why It’s Important: Industry experts find the length of these delays surprising and unreasonable. Dennis Lormel, a bank consultant with experience in financial crimes, expressed concern over the two- to four-week delays.
Apple’s savings account offers an attractive 4.15% interest rate for Apple Card holders, surpassing the near-zero rates offered by traditional banks. During its launch, the company received approximately $400 million in deposits within a single day and attracted around 240,000 new account openings in the first week.
As Apple aims to provide seamless services and exceptional product quality, these withdrawal issues could potentially tarnish its image. It remains to be seen how the company addresses and resolves these customer frustrations.
Price Action: In premarket trading, Apple shares rose 0.63% to $180.09 according to Benzinga Pro data.
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