Recent Hints Point Toward Apple Card International Expansion

Over a year after its U.S. launch, MacRumors has uncovered a range of evidence to suggest that Apple Card may soon be launching internationally.

apple card feature2

A source claiming to be close to an unnamed Australian banking corporation involved in supporting ‌‌Apple Card‌‌ in Australia tells MacRumors that ‌Apple Card‌ will be launching in multiple new regions as soon as the end of this year. The tip speculated that the Australian release may coincide with the release of iOS 14.1 or iOS 14.2, but cautioned that it might not be ready until an iOS 14.3 release in early 2021.

In addition, Apple has recently advertised for several new Apple Card Product Manager roles that involve travel and "working with external partners such as payment networks, bank issuers and other players." In the U.S., Goldman Sachs is ‌Apple Card‌'s only bank issuer. The job description may suggest that Apple is setting about negotiation with other issuers within the U.S., or more likely, issuers to support ‌Apple Card‌ in other regions around the world.

MacRumors has also discovered references to GDPR for ‌Apple Card‌ in iOS 14 Beta 8 code. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy. As ‌Apple Card‌ is not currently available outside of the U.S., it seems curious that there is code potentially referring to European privacy legislation for ‌Apple Card‌.

The code, found in a property list, also seems to have been present in some previous versions of iOS. It is unclear if the code is specifically referring to General Data Protection Regulation, or is an abbreviation for something else.

With an Apple event on Tuesday, Apple may be preparing to announce an international expansion of ‌Apple Card‌ imminently. Alternately, Apple could announce the international launch alongside new iPhones at a rumored October event.

Considering the extent to which credit markets and regulation varies around the world, it would be a tall order for Apple to release ‌Apple Card‌ in multiple new regions simultaneously. However, following the success of ‌Apple Card‌ in the U.S., it would make sense for Apple to expand into international markets. It is possible that Apple could announce a broad international expansion on Tuesday, before gradually completing launches at a much slower pace in other regions as they become ready.

While visiting Germany last year, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed his interest in launching ‌Apple Card‌ internationally. Last month, Samsung launched Samsung Pay Card in the UK, in an effort to establish a foothold in the region before Apple does.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Monday June 30, 2025 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
A18 Pro Chip

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options that include silver, blue, pink, and yellow. MacRumors...
macbook air spacegray purple

Apple Planning to Launch Low-Cost MacBook Powered By iPhone Chip

Monday June 30, 2025 3:20 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In an article published on X, Kuo explained that the device will feature a 13-inch display and the A18 Pro chip, making it the first Mac powered by an iPhone chip. The A18 Pro chip debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro last year. To date, all Apple silicon Macs have contained M-series...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...
maxresdefault

Five Features Coming to AirPods Pro 3

Friday June 27, 2025 10:52 am PDT by
Apple hasn't updated the AirPods Pro since 2022, and the earbuds are due for a refresh. We're counting on a new model this year, and we've seen several hints of new AirPods tucked away in Apple's code. Rumors suggest that Apple has some exciting new features planned that will make it worthwhile to upgrade to the latest model. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Heal...
replay all time playlist apple music

Apple Music Debuts All-New Personalized Playlist

Monday June 30, 2025 7:16 am PDT by
As part of its 10-year celebrations of Apple Music, Apple today released an all-new personalized playlist that collates your entire listening history. The playlist, called "Replay All Time," expands on Apple Music's existing Replay features. Previously, users could only see their top songs for each individual calendar year that they've been subscribed to Apple Music, but now, Replay All...

Top Rated Comments

alexandr Avatar
63 months ago

A credit card is so last century. Apple Watch, click-click, boom, paid.
the physical card is not the point...
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jarman74 Avatar
63 months ago
Apple Cash too while you are at it, please.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SaxPlayer Avatar
63 months ago
Sounds interesting. I haven't paid much attention to how it works and it may very well be different from the US in other territories, however if they launch in the UK I'll be checking it out. I always pay cards off and never keep any outstanding balance, however if they do some kind of cash back or other incentives then it might be a useful addition to the [virtual] wallet.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BF1M Avatar
63 months ago
Give us authorized users!
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Emanuel Rodriguez Avatar
63 months ago

Would love just a debit card. I don’t understand America’s craze for credit cards.
/Swede
I use it to build my credit history, and for the cash back. If you use your credit cards correctly, and don't carry a balance, it's essentially free money. To be completely honest though, most Americans do not have that kind of fiscal responsibility. For those who do, it's a useful asset.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
63 months ago
I really freaking wish that Apple would increase the rewards, though. They're just not competitive with my other cards.

The 1% on physical card and number transactions means I don't even bother carrying the titanium card with me at all. It's a shame that they came up with such a cool physical card with little point in using it; I might as well use my Chase Freedom card and get 1.5%. I switched Amazon to the Apple Card to test the number and yep, only getting 1%. Going to switch it back to Chase.

Both the Chase and BoA cards offer 3% on dining. No point ever paying for a restaurant order with the Apple Card.

Ideally it should be:

1.5 or even 2% on physical card/number transactions
3% on Apple Pay transactions. All of them, not just selected merchants.

Then i would use it a whole lot more.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)