US regulators have ordered Goldman Sachs and Apple to pay $89 million in penalties and consumer redress over violations in their joint credit card business that affected hundreds of thousands of customers.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) found that the companies mishandled transaction disputes and misled iPhone purchasers about interest-free payment options on the Apple Card.
Goldman Sachs will pay $19.8 million in consumer redress and a $45 million fine, while Apple must pay a $25 million penalty. The bank will also face restrictions on issuing new credit cards.
CFPB director Rohit Chopra said the misconduct caused “real harm to real people.” He noted: “This led to wrongful charges, mishandled disputes and damaged credit reports,” adding that purchasing an Apple device was often a significant expense for families.
According to the regulator, Apple failed to forward tens of thousands of consumer disputes to Goldman Sachs. In cases where disputes were sent, the bank failed to review them in accordance with the law.
The investigation also revealed that customers were misled about interest-free payments for Apple devices, with many being steered towards purchases with interest. In some cases, the interest-free option only appeared when online consumers used Apple’s Safari web browser.
“We found that if consumers were not using the Safari browser or were using a Safari browser in privacy mode, the option did not come up at checkout,” explained Eric Halperin, the CFPB’s enforcement director.
Apple expressed strong disagreement with the agency’s characterisation of its conduct but reached an agreement nonetheless. A spokesperson said: “Upon learning about these inadvertent issues years ago, Apple worked closely with Goldman Sachs to quickly address them and help impacted customers.”
Goldman Sachs said it was pleased to resolve the matter, stating: “We worked diligently to address certain technological and operational challenges that we experienced after launch and have already handled them with impacted customers.”
The enforcement action comes as Goldman Sachs seeks to exit the 2019 Apple partnership, which other lenders view as too risky and unprofitable. The bank’s broader foray into consumer banking has struggled, losing billions of dollars and prompting a refocus on its traditional investment banking and trading operations.
