The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has decided to impose a financial penalty of over ninety million dollars on Apple and its partner, Goldman Sachs, due to the failure of the “Apple Card”. This comes after several years of investigations into this card.
Despite expectations that the fine would only target Goldman Sachs, it turned out that Apple will also bear part of the fines. Goldman Sachs is required to pay compensation of approximately nineteen million eight hundred thousand dollars, in addition to a civil monetary penalty of forty-five million dollars, while Apple will pay a civil monetary fine of twenty-five million dollars.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has also mandated that Goldman Sachs not issue any new credit cards without providing a reliable plan to ensure the product’s compliance with laws. This may lead Goldman Sachs to abandon its activities in consumer credit cards.
These penalties come after investigations into various alleged issues with the Apple Card. Reports indicated that Apple did not send “tens of thousands of consumer disputes” to Goldman Sachs, and when they were sent, it was alleged that the bank did not comply with federal requirements to investigate those disputes.
Regulatory authorities also stated that both companies launched the Apple Card despite “third-party warnings” to Goldman Sachs, indicating that the card’s dispute resolution system was not ready due to technological issues.
In this context, customers experienced long delays in receiving refunds for disputed fees, as well as incorrect negative information added to some of their credit reports.
The investigation also revealed that Apple and Goldman Sachs misled consumers about interest-free payment plans for Apple products, leading some buyers to believe they would not automatically incur interest fees. Additionally, some interest-free payment options were not presented to certain browsers.
Goldman Sachs was also accused of misleading credit card holders about the amounts refunded, resulting in some customers incurring additional interest fees.
