JPMorgan to Replace Goldman Sachs as Issuer of Apple Card

Apple, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase announced that JPMorgan will replace Goldman Sachs as the issuer of the Apple Card, beginning a roughly 24-month transition that will transfer about $20 billion of outstanding balances and keep the card on the Mastercard network. Goldman Sachs will continue to operate the Apple Card business during the handoff while regulatory approvals and operational details are completed.

The transaction involves Goldman effectively shedding the portfolio at a material discount: the bank agreed to offload the balances at a discount of more than $1 billion. JPMorgan signaled its readiness to absorb expected losses by setting aside a $2.2 billion provision in its fourth-quarter 2025 accounts related to the planned transfer. Those figures reflect both the size of the exposure and the lenders’ expectations about credit quality and future charge-offs tied to the book.

Apple has been partnered with Goldman since the Apple Card’s 2019 launch, an arrangement that once anchored Goldman’s consumer finance ambitions. In recent years Goldman has retreated from that strategy, disposing of several consumer assets: it sold its General Motors credit card business in October 2024, divested its Marcus Invest unit to Betterment earlier in 2024, and sold GreenSky in October 2023. Executives had already signaled the possibility of an earlier exit; in a January 15, 2025 earnings call Goldman Sachs’s CEO said the partnership with Apple “may end before” the contractual obligation to support the card through 2030.

For Apple customers the immediate mechanics will be largely designed to maintain continuity. JPMorgan will become issuer for both new and existing Apple Card accounts, and the card will remain on Mastercard’s network so merchants should see no change. Apple also plans to work with Chase on a new Apple-branded savings product, and holders of Apple savings accounts currently hosted at Goldman will be given the choice to remain with Goldman or move to JPMorgan.

Market analysts view the deal as consequential for both banks. JPMorgan’s acquisition of the Apple Card portfolio reinforces its already dominant position in the credit-card segment and expands its direct-to-consumer footprint. For Goldman, the transfer marks a further retreat from consumer lending after repeated divestitures. One analyst described Goldman’s consumer push as a “disastrous consumer lending expansion for Goldman Sachs ‘that never should have happened,’” reflecting frustration among some investors and strategists.

The change also carries consumer-facing implications beyond continuity. Some analysts expect underwriting standards to tighten under JPMorgan’s stewardship, potentially reducing approvals for lower-credit-score applicants and altering the card’s customer mix. Regulators will evaluate the transaction’s terms and the banks’ readiness to safeguard customer data and continuity during the multi-year migration.

The agreement caps more than a year of negotiations on a complex operational shift. With a substantial book moving at a material discount and a significant provision already taken, the deal underscores broader industry dynamics: large lenders consolidating lucrative payment flows while specialized consumer efforts are re-evaluated amid rising credit losses and strategic retrenchment.