Perhaps the biggest hint of expansive plans came from Mastercards’s president of the Americas, Linda Kirkpatrick, who said: “Innovation on Apple Card has taken the consumer payments experience to the next level, and we look forward to delivering simple, secure, and seamless payments at global scale.”
More challenging than before
The latter statement suggests an intention to make the service available more widely, though it’s possible the opportunity has already passed. Challenger banks are much more entrenched outside the US, even as international tension dents America’s singular brand appeal.
If you think back to the well storied launch of Apple Card, the world was quite different. At that time, the full impact of conflict and energy prices hadn’t struck and economies were in better shape. Apple hit that market with a cutting-edge financial product that attracted glowing praise from across consumers and the banking retail markets. JD Power’s vice president of banking and credit card services, Jim Miller, pointed out the opportunity that could be unlocked in emerging economies, where many were far more already accustomed to mobile banking services.
