Retail banking is not only harder than it looks but also heavily regulated by watchdogs who take their duties very seriously
Things can go wrong when big companies try to reinvent retail finance on the fly. Photograph: Mehmet Futsi/Anadolu via Getty Imagesteamed up to launch a credit card in 2019, neither the storied investment bank nor the technology giant had much experience with consumer banking. That did not stop them from dreaming big.
The top US consumer finance watchdog last week declared that Apple and Goldman had “illegally sidestepped” obligations to consumers in their haste to create a novel product. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered the two groups to pay a combined $89 million for mishandling disputed charges and misleading customers about interest-free payment plans.
Tech firms are used to launching in beta, a fancy way of saying that they put out a lightly-tested product and then modify and improve it as problems are discovered. That attitude spilled over into the Apple Card. Goldman’s board was warned in advance of its August 2019 launch that the system for dealing with disputed charges was “not fully ready”. The bank, which would have had to pay penalties to Apple for a delay, opted to push ahead anyway.
The card won top rankings in customer satisfaction surveys. But some cardholders got lost in key processes and failed to file forms or tick particular boxes. The single billing date led to huge surges in disputed charges that overwhelmed Goldman’s customer service. There is a reason for that. If a fledging web search engine or a shaky chatbot offers less than perfect responses, where is the real harm? But charging customers unfairly or wrecking their credit scores causes measurable pain that regulators have a duty to prevent.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Retail sales up 0.5% in SeptemberCSO says sectors with the highest monthly volume increases were electrical goods; books, newspapers and stationery
Read more »
Goldman warns of lost decade for US stocksDominated by handful of megacap tech stocks, index has enjoyed annual returns of 13% over the last decade
Read more »
Beauty brand Rituals opening Killarney store in continued retail expansionDutch-owned company has recently upgraded its Dundrum store to a luxury experiential outlet
Read more »
Tom Lyons, Eddie Shanahan and Ella de Guzman on maximising a retail strategySharing first-hand insights and past experiences, there was plenty of great advice – some of which we’ve summarised here.
Read more »
Revenue seize tablets, airsoft gun, alcohol and retail goods throughout weekThe illegal drugs were discovered, as a result of risk profiling and with the assistance of detector dogs Sam, Grace and Enzo in parcels
Read more »
Smartphone now king of retail payments - over half of contactless transactions made with mobilesMore than 1.4bn contactless payments made for goods and services in first half of this year
Read more »