The first week of Apple Savings proved Apple's ecosystem strength with a mass of new accounts and nearly $1 billion in deposits.
Apple Savings has a 4.15% APY
Apple Savings is a high-yield savings account run by Goldman Sachs, with the front end owned by Apple. It is tied to the Apple Card and, thus, a US-only feature.
According to a report from Forbes, Apple Savings had a great first week. Anonymous sources indicate that around 240,000 accounts were created in that first week, amassing $990 million in deposits in the first four days.
"Banks have quickly responded to the Fed's interest rate hikes with higher mortgage and car loan rates, but savers have seen little to no increase in traditional bank deposits or savings accounts," Richard Crone, CEO and founder of payments firm Crone Consulting, says. "There's an outflow to CDs, money market funds, and fintechs like Apple."
Apple Savings isn't the best high-yield savings account out there, nor does it offer the highest APY. However, it might just be the most convenient -- at least for existing Apple Card holders.
That 4.15% APY combined with the simplicity of sign-up are likely influences for the large initial adoption rate. The savings account has been available for two weeks now, but adoption numbers have not been made public.
Apple is a very secretive company, so it is impossible to determine exactly how many users are able to adopt Apple Savings. Out of the 2 billion active Apple products used in the world, only a fraction of that resides in the United States -- with many people owning multiple products.
Still, 240,000 new accounts would represent strong initial interest from the United States Apple user base. Each of those accounts belongs to a single adult over 18 with an Apple Card.
A mind-boggling number can be derived from that $990 million in deposits. With just the money deposited in the first four days, we know at 4.15% APY that customers will be paid $41 million in interest over the next year.
Well, this writer got six cents of that on May 1 for some perspective on the incredible numbers we're dealing with here. Apple Savings and Apple Card are US only, so it may be some time yet before Apple's global user base get to collect their pennies in savings too.