What you need to know
- There are conflicting reports about whether Apple is sending Apple Card payment history to credit bureaus.
- Payment history may not yet be reflected on Apple Card users' credit reports, likely because Apple Card is so new.
- Industry experts say the move is unusual, but companies aren't obliged to send the information.
This Story has been updated to include comments from a source "within Apple corporate." (below)
A report today suggests that Apple Card payment history is not being reflected on credit reports, because Apple and Goldman Sachs are yet to begin reporting it to credit bureaus. According to MarketWatch:
If you've signed up for the Apple Card, your payment history isn't reflected on your credit reports yet.Apple, and Goldman Sachs, have yet to start reporting consumers' payment information for the Apple Card to the major credit bureaus, a source close to Goldman Sachs confirmed to MarketWatch Monday. This means that the two companies have yet to send details on customers' balances and on-time payments to Experian, Equifax and TransUnion - information that is used to calculate people's credit scores.
The source claims that the reason the information hasn't been reported yet, is because Apple Card is a brand new product. However, no information was provided to MarketWatch as to whether either Apple or GS is working on developing the functionality.
MarketWatch notes that credit-card companies are not obligated to report payment history to the major credit bureaus, but industry experts described the decision as highly unusual:
"I've never heard of a mainstream credit card that doesn't report to the credit bureaus," said Ted Rossman, industry analyst at CreditCards.com. "I've heard of a few fringe instances of cards failing to report to the bureaus, like certain secured cards, but nothing nearly as widely known as the Apple Card."
When Apple announced Apple Card, it touted the quick and easy sign up process and the financial management tools available. Some viewed Apple Card as an ideal tool for people with poor (or no) credit to build or rebuild their credit history. Analyst Matt Schulz told MarketWatch:
"If there's a card that's not reporting people's credit history to the credit bureaus that would be troubling potentially."
Mark Gurman of Bloomberg posted on Twitter the following:
Interesting Apple Card tidbit: Apple isn’t reporting your balances, payment history yet to the credit bureaus. So if you are on time, no positive impact on your score. If you miss your payments, seemingly not as much of a consequence on your score. pic.twitter.com/Pnixxv4JsnInteresting Apple Card tidbit: Apple isn’t reporting your balances, payment history yet to the credit bureaus. So if you are on time, no positive impact on your score. If you miss your payments, seemingly not as much of a consequence on your score. pic.twitter.com/Pnixxv4Jsn— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) October 11, 2019October 11, 2019
This source would seem to suggest that Apple and/or GS is working on the functionality, and that payment history will be backdated and sent to bureaus. This could mean that as of right now, your Apple Card activity is not impacting your credit score positively or negatively. However, when the information is eventually reported, any missed or made payments could end up affecting your credit score. The fact that industry experts are calling the current situation unusual adds further credence to the notion that this is only a temporary state of affairs.
Update - According to Apple Insider, a source within Apple Corporate not authorized to speak on behalf of Apple, claims the credit reporting functionality for Apple Card "is done", and that reporting was happening for some customers now, and that "everything will be reported". This report would seem to suggest that in contrast to the earlier reports, the functionality for reporting purchase history does exist, and that it has been rolled out to some customers. It does however confirm the previous report that Apple does plan to backdate reporting for all customers. Given however the nature of the source, it certainly shouldn't be treated as official information.
