It’s been almost two years since we saw the presentation of the Apple card and all the services that revolve around it. The Apple Card is not just a card, it is a fundraising service, a rewards program, an app to display information, one of the best options for Apple Pay, etc. All of these services are currently only available in the United States.But what about its international expansion? It seems to continue.
An expansion that begins in Canada and continues
In Canadian Trademarks for Apple Card and Apple Cash which were requested in July 2019 have just been granted. This news opens the way for the service to land in the country and become the first country outside the United States to offer this service. An expansion that we could consider as the starting gun for future expansions and which, eventually, should lead us to see the Apple Card in Europe.
The truth is that in terms of international expansion of certain products, Apple usually has a list of priority countries: Australia, United Kingdom, Ireland and to a lesser extent France or Germany. There is a reason for this order and it is that these are the main English speaking countries. With the Apple Card, however, the situation is different. Given the nature of the service, the importance of language is almost nil, so what matters in this expansion are other factors. Factors such as the presence of contactless POS or the habit of using credit cards.
We don’t know what Apple’s plans are in the expansion of the Apple card, what we do know, according to company executives, is that an expansion is planned. It will be necessary to see when, if it does eventually arrive, the service will be activated in Canada, which would give us an approximate time to draw conclusions.
Another aspect to consider in this expansion is whether Apple can negotiate with a single banking partner across Europe or one will be needed for each country. Here, regulation is essential and can set the pace for the arrival of this service in Europe. Negotiating with a single partner would allow the service to reach 26 countries in one direction, while 26 individual negotiations would take much longer.
The truth is that with the information we have so far, Apple might already be in talks with Spanish banks (hopefully!), So we’ll wait for the rumored event in March. There are a lot of new material to release, but at least offer a delay in the arrival of the service is a possibility.
Increasingly, Apple is focusing on services as a source of revenue. Of course, the sale of equipment continues and will continue to have an important weight in the economy of the company, but little by little the service offerings will gain in importance. With that in mind, it’s clear that Apple’s interest in expanding services like the Apple Card or others like Apple News, for example, will increase. Hope there will be some news soon.
