Apple Card is moving onto a new issuer balance sheet, bringing more than $20bn in consumer credit exposure to JPMorgan Chase.
JPMorgan Chase is set to become the new issuing bank for Apple Card, marking a significant shift in one of the most closely watched partnerships in consumer payments.
Apple and Chase confirmed on January 7 that Chase will assume the issuer role following an expected transition period of approximately 24 months, subject to regulatory approvals.
Mastercard will remain the payment network for Apple Card, maintaining continuity at the scheme level while the issuing bank changes.In August 2025, Visa reportedly offered Apple around $100m to replace Mastercard as the tech company’s credit card partner.
Under the terms of the agreement, the transaction is expected to bring more than $20bn in existing Apple Card balances onto the Chase platform. JPMorgan Chase said it anticipates recognising a $2.2bn provision for credit losses in the fourth quarter of 2025 related to the forward purchase commitment, reflecting the scale and risk profile of the portfolio.
Apple Card users will continue to access the same core features during the transition period, including Daily Cash rewards of up to three percent, spending insights within Apple Wallet, Apple Card Family, and access to Apple’s high-yield savings account. No immediate changes to card functionality or benefits have been announced.
Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, said the company viewed Chase as aligned with its focus on consumer financial tools and long-term innovation.
“Chase shares our commitment to innovation and delivering products and services that enhance consumers’ lives,” Bailey said, adding that the companies would work together to maintain a “best-in-class experience” for Apple Card users.
Allison Beer, chief executive officer of Card and Connected Commerce at Chase, described the agreement as a deepening of the bank’s co-brand strategy.
“We share a commitment to supporting consumer financial health, and we’re proud to welcome Apple as the newest partner in our industry-leading co-brand credit card programme,” Beer said.
Mastercard president of the Americas Linda Kirkpatrick said the network’s role in Apple Card would remain unchanged, emphasising continuity in acceptance and infrastructure.
Why Apple is moving on from Goldman
The move represents a shift in the structure of Apple Card, which was introduced in 2019 as a digital-first credit product designed to integrate tightly with Apple’s hardware and software ecosystem, with Goldman Sachs as the issuing bank.
According to Eashan Trehan, Strategy Consultant and Senior Associate at Quinlan & Associates, the partnership reflected a convergence of different strategic motivations that later proved difficult to sustain.
“Apple was looking to deepen its services business and embed payments more tightly into its ecosystem, at a time when iPhone sales growth was beginning to plateau,” Trehan said in a post on LinkedIn. “Credit cards still dominate higher-value consumer purchases in the US, and Apple lacked the in-house capabilities around credit underwriting, regulatory compliance and fraud prevention to go it alone.”
Trehan added that Apple’s preference for a partner willing to hold the loan book on its own balance sheet narrowed the field of potential issuers. While several established card players, including JPMorgan Chase, Citi and American Express, were reportedly approached during the early stages, Goldman ultimately agreed to Apple’s commercial and operational requirements.
In recent years, Goldman has acknowledged higher-than-expected losses and operational challenges within its consumer lending business, and has stated publicly that it intends to scale back its exposure in this area and refocus on its core institutional strengths. Apple Card has been one of the most prominent consumer products associated with that strategy.
Apple has not publicly commented on the reasons for the issuer transition, and neither Apple nor Goldman has disclosed detailed terms relating to the handover beyond the forward sale of the portfolio. However, the agreement with Chase formally places the Apple Card programme onto the balance sheet of a bank with a long-established presence in mass-market consumer credit and co-branded card issuing.
For Chase, the deal adds a substantial volume of consumer credit exposure tied to a globally recognised brand, at a time when banks have been increasingly selective about growth in unsecured lending. The long transition period suggests a complex operational handover, encompassing systems migration, regulatory sign-off and customer servicing arrangements at scale.
Apple confirmed that cardholders can continue using Apple Card as normal throughout the transition, with further details to be shared closer to the changeover date. Additional information and customer FAQs have been published by Apple, outlining the expected timeline and reassurance around service continuity.
While the transaction is not expected to close for around two years, the announcement signals a clear long-term commitment from Chase to the Apple Card programme and underlines the continuing evolution of large-scale partnerships between technology companies and traditional financial institutions.
