End of Goldman-Apple partnership? Talks on with American Express to take over financial services

Goldman Sachs Group Inc is considering exiting its partnership with Apple Inc, according to a report published by The Wall Street Journal. It served as a relationship that helped vault the iPhone maker into the finance world. 

Currently, the bank is in talks with American Express Co to take over the Apple credit card and other services that the companies offer together, the WSJ report said, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation. 

They also said that Apple is completely aware of the ongoing conversation which has been taking place for months now. The tech company would have to agree to a transfer.

Apple’s push into financial offerings with Goldman Sachs’ help is part of a broader effort to generate more revenue from services. The tech giant got about 20% of its sales from that category last year, up from less than 10% a decade ago, WSJ reported.  

Recently, Apple and Goldman Sachs also introduced a long-promised high-yield savings account. However, the tech giant has been laying the groundwork to rely less on partners for its financial services. 

Goldman Sachs also has discussed transferring its card partnership with General Motors Co. to American Express or another issuer, as per the Journal reports. But a deal with American Express isn’t imminent or assured yet.

American Express shares gained 1.1% in after-hours trading, while those of Goldman Sachs and Apple were little changed.

It is pertinent to note that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has lost its ranking as the world’s top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) adviser for the first time in five years.

Goldman fell to the second spot, with a role on $237 billion of transactions giving it an 18.8 per cent market share. The last time Goldman ranked second for any half-year period was in the first half of 2018.