Apple and Goldman Sachs 'to launch joint credit card'

A customer uses Apple Pay to make a purchase at Pret a Manger

Apple and Goldman Sachs are planning to launch a joint credit card under the ‘Apple Pay’ brand next year, in a further potential major disruption to traditional high street banks.

The tie-up would push the Silicon Valley giant and Wall Street bank into plastic for the first time. Any venture will replace a long-standing rewards card partnership between Apple and British bank Barclays, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Barclays declined to comment. Apple and Goldman Sachs were unavailable for comment.

Any launch in the UK would likely create a formidable competitor to established lenders in a sector already heating up with growing competition from challenger banks like Virgin Money and Metro and digital start-ups like Monzo and Tandem.

Apple has been expanding into payment services through Apple Pay, which currently works through contactless payments through devices like iPhones, with Apple generating revenue on each transaction.

The firm’s wider services business – which includes the App Store, mobile payments and music streaming  grew revenue 31pc to more than $9bn (£6.7bn) in the three months of this year.

Meanwhile Goldman Sachs has been diversifying away from its core investment banking business with retail banking brand Marcus. The venture launched in 2016 and offers online savings accounts and personal loans.

Goldman Sachs’ top bosses have set a target of generating $5bn of revenue from new sources including consumer banking.