We're still waiting to hear news about Apple Card's performance relative to the major card issuers, but that hasn't stopped Samsung from announcing plans to launch an "innovative" debit card as part of a new mobile-first money management platform the company has been developing over the last year.
Announced on Thursday in a blog post by Samsung Pay vice-president Sang Ahn, the forthcoming debit card is in partnership with finance company SoFi and will be backed by a cash management account.
"In 2020, Samsung Pay will be expanding our service from being a rewarding way to shop and pay, to also being a rewarding way to manage money," writes Ahn. "Over the past year we have been busy developing a mobile-first money management platform. Our vision is to help consumers better manage their money so that they can achieve their dreams and goals. Now more than ever, mobile financial services and money management tools will play an even bigger role in our daily lives while also opening up new possibilities."
The debit card is scheduled to launch this summer. Other than that, Samsung hasn't offered any details on how it will work, but expect it to integrate with Samsung's existing mobile payment system.
Launched in August 2019, Apple Card is a credit card linked to Apple Pay and built into the Wallet app on iPhone. Apple partnered with Goldman Sachs to launch the card, and in October the investment bank hailed it as "the most successful credit-card launch ever." Nine months later, neither Apple nor Goldman Sachs has offered any concrete details on its performance.
During the global health crisis, Apple has introduced an Apple Card Assistance Program that allows Apple Card holders to skip their March and April payments without incurring interest charges for that billing cycle. For more details on how the card works, check out our comprehensive Apple Card guide.
