Customers of Apple Say It’s Difficult to Withdraw Funds from Goldman Sachs Savings Accounts
Apple’s AAPL 1.33% rise; green up pointing triangle savings account, a partnership with Goldman Sachs GS -2.32% drop; red down pointing triangle, opened to considerable fanfare in April. Some clients claim it has been difficult to withdraw their funds.
Nathan Thacker, of Atlanta, had been attempting to transfer $1,700 from his Apple account to JPMorgan Chase since May 15. When he called Goldman’s customer service department, he was urged to wait a few more days.
According to him, the money was sent into his Chase account on Thursday morning after The Wall Street Journal contacted Goldman about his and other customers’ experiences.
Others reported having difficulty moving funds from their new Apple accounts. Customer support staff at Goldman, which holds the deposits, occasionally gave contradictory advice, they said. Sometimes their money appeared to have simply vanished, neither appearing in their Apple account or the account to which they were attempting to transfer it.
Goldman declined to comment on specific customers, but stated that “we take our obligation to protect our customers’ deposits very seriously.”
“The customer response to the new savings account for Apple Card users has been excellent and beyond our expectations,” stated the bank in a statement. “While the vast majority of customers experience no delays in transferring funds, a user may experience a delayed transfer due to processes in place designed to help protect their accounts.”
An Apple representative declined to comment.
According to professionals in the AML industry, transfers that make up a considerable portion of the overall amount on brand-new accounts, such as Apple’s, can raise anti-money-laundering alarms or other security issues that require additional assessment. According to them, these delays normally last about five days.
It can also be a red flag if a customer attempts to transfer a big sum of money from a freshly formed savings account into an account other than the one from which the funds originated.
Min-Jae Lee was attracted by the high interest rate on the Apple account and wanted to try it out. She invested $100,000 in April, but quickly decided she’d rather have her money somewhere else. She attempted to transfer it out on May 1.
It took her more than three weeks to get it.
Lee, a lawyer, said Goldman instructed her to contact JPMorgan Chase, where she was attempting to transfer the funds. Then, on Goldman’s suggestion, she attempted to transfer the funds to her Vanguard account. She said the $100,000 was moved there before being returned to Apple the next day.
According to her, Goldman then called her and told her that the money could only be moved to the account from which she had sent it. On May 16, she requested a transfer to Ally.
A few days later, Goldman informed her that her account was being investigated for security reasons.
Her Apple account had a zero balance, but the funds were not in her Ally account. On May 25, it finally arrived. She’s not quite sure why.
It is understandable that a bank would delay a transfer to conduct more due diligence, but the duration of the wait in certain circumstances is startling, according to Dennis Lormel, a former federal prosecutor who now works as a bank consultant.
“A two- to four-week delay seems definitely long,” he remarked. “As someone who works with banks on a regular basis, that seems unreasonable to me.”
People are drawn to the Apple savings account because they are looking for the same thing: yield. According to Bankrate.com, it pays a 4.15% interest rate, which is higher than the current savings-account average of 0.25%.
Goldman Sachs also issues Apple’s credit card, so customers who want to open savings accounts must first apply for the credit card.
Apple sees the new account as a way to integrate the iPhone into people’s regular financial dealings while also keeping users connected to its ecosystem. It is a technique for Goldman to build deposits.
When dealing with the humdrum chores of servicing Main Street customers, the Wall Street behemoth has met difficulties, including regulatory investigations. Goldman has been reducing its consumer lending and announced earlier this year that it is “considering strategic alternatives” for the company, which includes its credit-card arrangement with Apple.
Long delays have prompted some customers to make unanticipated financial decisions.
On May 16, Kevin Smyth of Minnesota attempted to transfer $10,000 from his Apple account to US Bank. He needed the money to pay for basement remodeling.
