Apple Card is under fire for app gender discrimination
It didn’t take long for Apple Goldman Sachs Partnership turn against you. It all started last Thursday, when the co-founder of Basecamp David Heinemeier Hansson tweeted about having 20 times the Apple Card credit limit than his arguably more qualified wife.
While Apple’s proprietary credit card has been marketed to a large network of users, the approval process undoubtedly favors applicants with a high credit score and income bracket. But while these traditional financial conditions are expected from a card with such attractive advantages as instant cash back, the Apple Card is specifically denounced for its sexist nature.
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“My wife and I have filed joint tax returns, live in a community property state and have been married for a long time. Still, Apple’s black box algorithm thinks I deserve 20 times the credit limit it deserves. No call is working ”, Hansson wrote on Twitter. The viral tweet was later addressed by Goldman Sachs, who denied that the app’s algorithmic process involves any bias.
But judging by the answers, people weren’t buying the no-excuse. And neither does Apple’s co-founder Steve wozniak, who also told a similar story about his wife’s credit limit. In an interview with Bloomberg on Sunday, Wozniak pointed out that consumer “algos” had flaws.
“This kind of injustice bothers me and goes against the principle of truth. We don’t have transparency on how these companies set these things up and operate, ”Wozniak said. “Our government is not strong enough on regulatory issues. Consumers can only be represented by government because large corporations only represent themselves.
The incident has indeed triggered a regulatory investigation into the joint product of Apple and Goldman Sachs, with the New York State Department of Financial Services looking into the matter.
The titanium Apple card, launched this summer, promises innovative but secure financial transactions thanks to Apple’s strict security features.
“No annual fees. No cash advance fees. No international fees. No over limit or return payment fees. And best of all, no hidden costs, ”says the Apple brand. With a public inquiry into its potentially sexist approval process, the sleek Apple Card is expected to see its good reputation tarnished just months after launch.