Buyers of super premium $1,000 iPhone X could soon be able to take out a loan from investment bank Goldman Sachs Inc. instead of charging it to credit cards that often carry high interest rates, the media reported.
"Goldman Sachs is in talks to offer financing to shoppers buying phones, watches and other gadgets from Apple, according to people familiar with the matter," The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
"Apple Inc.'s investment bank, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has raised tens of billions of dollars for the technology company," the report added.
Talks between the Cupertino-headquartered giant and the Wall Street bank are still ongoing and the deal has not been finalised yet.
However, if the talks come through, Goldman Sachs may offer iPhone customers a “point-of-sale” loan at checkout, that may be substantially cheaper than credit cards.
Part of Goldman's discussions with Apple reportedly involve taking over some form of Apple's iPhone upgrade programme which is designed for users who want to have the latest iPhone every year and comes with "AppleCare+" included.
"AppleCare" is the tech giant's brand name for extended warranty and technical support plans for their devices.
Goldman Sachs wants to attract iPhone buyers with better loan deals than credit card institutions, the report states.
Goldman Sachs had earlier launched an online lender business called Marcus which helps people refinance debt on credit cards. They come with a 12% interest rate.
Credit cards can charge interest upward of 20%, apart from late fees and other charges. If Goldman Sachs does come with a Marcus-equivalent for iPhone purchases, then buyers may opt to avoid credit cards when buying Apple’s expensive toys.
Goldman Sachs is aiming to grab a significant portion of the point-of-sale loans business, by training its eyes on Apple users. As per First Annapolis estimates quoted by The Journal In 2017, shoppers borrowed more than $200 billion from credit card companies, with $80 billion of it going towards expensive furniture and electronics items.
(With IANS inputs)