Following an investigation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today announced it has fined Apple and Goldman Sachs nearly $90 million combined for "Apple Card failures" related to "customer service breakdowns" and "misrepresentations."
Apple and Goldman Sachs have partnered on the Apple Card since its launch in 2019, with Goldman Sachs handling the consumer lending aspects.
Specifically, the CFPB found that Apple and Goldman Sachs violated the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Act and the U.S. Truth in Lending Act by mishandling transaction disputes and misleading iPhone users about interest-free payment options available when purchasing Apple devices with the Apple Card. These failures impacted "hundreds of thousands of Apple Card users," according to the agency.
"The marketing of the Apple Card Monthly Installments plan led consumers to believe they would automatically receive interest-free financing when purchasing iPhones and other Apple devices with their Apple Card," the CPFB said, resulting in some consumers being "unknowingly charged interest because they were not automatically enrolled as expected."
Here are the CFPB's findings, including Apple failing to send some transaction disputes to Goldman Sachs, Goldman Sachs failing to properly investigate some of the disputes, and Apple and Goldman Sachs misleading cardholders:
Failing to process or share consumer disputes: Apple Card users were directed to dispute transactions through a "Report an Issue" feature in the Wallet app. For some disputes, Apple sent consumers a separate link in the Messages app asking for more information. Apple failed to send these disputes to Goldman Sachs if the second form was incomplete. Even after Goldman Sachs alerted Apple to this issue, the problem persisted. As a result, neither Apple nor Goldman Sachs investigated tens of thousands of such disputes and cardholders were unfairly held responsible for disputed transactions.
Failing to investigate cardholder disputes: For the disputes that Apple did send to Goldman Sachs, the bank failed to consistently send acknowledgment notices within 30 days, conduct reasonable investigations, or send resolution letters explaining the determinations of its investigations within 90 days. These failures led to Goldman Sachs illegally placing damaging information on consumers' credit reports and holding cardholders responsible for potentially fraudulent or unauthorized purchases.
Misleading cardholders about a payment plan for iPhones and other Apple products: The marketing of the Apple Card Monthly Installments plan led consumers to believe they would automatically receive interest-free financing when purchasing iPhones and other Apple devices with their Apple Card. The plan allowed cardholders to purchase Apple devices through a series of interest-free payments over a period of six months to two years. However, many cardholders were unknowingly charged interest because they were not automatically enrolled as expected. They also faced confusing checkout options about enrolling in the plan. For online purchases, Apple only presented the payment plan as an option to consumers using Apple's own Safari browser. Due to Apple and Goldman's actions, instead of making interest-free payments, thousands of cardholders purchased Apple devices on interest-bearing revolving balances and incurred interest charges.
Misleading cardholders about refunds: Cardholders with an Apple Card Monthly Installments plan essentially had two card balances – the plan balance and their interest-bearing revolving balance. For more than 10,000 cardholders, Goldman Sachs misled consumers about how it would apply certain refunds between the two balances. Contrary to Goldman's representations, portions of refunds for unrelated purchases were applied to the interest-free plan balance instead of the interest-bearing revolving balance. As a result, consumers incurred additional and unexpected interest expenses.
Apple has been ordered to pay a $25 million fine, which will go to the CFPB's victims relief fund, while Goldman Sachs is required to pay at least $19.8 million in redress to impacted consumers and a $45 million fine.
In a statement shared with MacRumors, Apple said it strongly disagree[s] with the CFPB's characterization of the company's conduct.
"Apple is committed to providing consumers with fair and transparent financial products," an Apple spokesperson said. "Apple Card is one of the most consumer-friendly credit cards available, and was specifically designed to support users' financial health. Upon learning about these inadvertent issues years ago, Apple worked closely with Goldman Sachs to quickly address them and help impacted customers. While we strongly disagree with the CFPB's characterization of Apple’s conduct, we have aligned with them on an agreement. We look forward to continuing to deliver a great experience for our Apple Card customers."
More details about the CFPB's findings are available on its website.