Does Apple Card Discriminate Women?
When Apple Card officially debuted in August, one of the handy features was the ability to apply for a card from your phone and get approved in a matter of seconds. What’s more, you could see how long you get approved before you agree to the terms of the card and see the impact of opening a new account on your credit report.
But if you’re not the only person in your family to apply for the card, that ease of application plus the near-instantaneous verdict may have created some tension. Rumor has it that women are getting lower credit offerings from the Goldman Sachs-backed Apple Card.
It all started when David Henemeier Hansson told his numerous Twitter followers how he was offered a credit limit 2 times more than his wife was offered. After trying to get answers from Apple and hear it was just an “algorithm,” Hansson and his wife pulled her credit score and found that she had a stronger profile than him.
Hansson is not the only one to notice this discrepancy. Steve Wozniak, Apple co-founder, wrote in Twitter that he was offered a limit of 10 times more than it was proposed to his wife.
The public allegations prompted the New York City Department of Financial Services to investigate whether the Apple Card violates state equal treatment laws for consumers regardless of gender, according to a Bloomberg article.
Goldman Sachs made a statement on Twitter , “As with any individual credit card, your application is assessed independently,” noting that the approval process takes into account individual income, credit ratings, existing debt and debt management. “Based on these factors, two family members can get significantly different loan solutions.”
Hansson told Bloomberg that Apple increased his wife’s credit limit “as soon as it became a PR problem.” While he said in this interview that he does not believe there is anything malicious going on, he remains concerned about the application process. “How do you know that there is no problem with a machine learning algorithm if no one can explain how the decision was made?” – he told Bloomberg.
We’ve reached out to Apple and Goldman Sachs for comment and will let you know if they respond.
Married couples, even if they combine their checking accounts, file general taxes and share credit cards, still have individual credit reports and credit scores . Your combined credit histories only come into play if you apply for a loan as a co-author.
In the meantime, if you suspect that you have been offered an unfair credit limit for an Apple Card, you can file a complaint through the state department of consumer protection .