Want to Apply for the Apple Card? Don’t Jailbreak your Device

With the launch of the Apple’s new credit card now imminent, we’ve been seeing new details emerge on a regular basis, and now it appears that Goldman Sachs has posted the card’s customer agreement on its website for all to see, revealing a few more details about how the revolutionary new credit card will work.

Much of the agreement, which can be found here on Goldman Sachs’ website, contains the usual boilerplate regarding interest rates (13.24% to 24.24%, as expected), and annual fees, transaction fees, and penalty fees (all of which are, as promised, “None”).

However, digging deeper into the details reveals some interesting — although not surprising — restrictions.

You’ll Need an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

In case there was any doubt, the Apple Card will be intrinsically connected to a “required” Apple device. This is defined as “an iOS or iPadOS device that has a version of iOS or iPadOS (as applicable) that supports the use of Apple

Card, has internet access, and has a passcode enabled.”

While you’ll also be able to add your Apple Card to be used via Apple Pay to other “eligible devices” that you own (like any other credit or debit card), including a Mac or an Apple Watch, the agreement makes it clear that you will not only need a “required device” to apply for an Apple Card, but that you must keep a required device in order to manage your account, and that “If you do not maintain a Required Device, [Apple] may close your account.” It will be the Wallet app on this “required device” that handles all of the card management features.

So in other words, only serious Apple loyalists need apply. If you switch to an Android phone later on, you’ll have to give up your Apple Card along with your iPhone, unless of course you’re willing to keep an iPod touch or iPad around.

Jailbreaking is out

Although jailbreaking isn’t nearly as big of a thing as it once was — recent iOS updates have both made that both more difficult and less necessary — Apple wants to make it absolutely clear that if you jailbreak your device, you’ll be kicked out of the camp.

If you make unauthorized modifications to your Eligible Device, such as by disabling hardware or software controls (for example, through a process sometimes referred to as “jailbreaking”), your Eligible Device may no longer be eligible to access or manage your Account. You acknowledge that use of a modified Eligible Device in connection with your Account is expressly prohibited, constitutes a violation of this Agreement, and could result in our denying or limiting your access to or closing your Account as well as any other remedies available to us under this Agreement.

Note that this includes not only your “Required device” (as noted above), but also any and all “eligible devices” so even if your iPhone operating system is in pristine condition, if you have an iPod touch that you’ve jailbroken, you’ll want to keep your Apple Card as far away from that as possible. The language also suggests that this won’t just be enforced when you first apply for the card either, but that Apple will likely continue monitoring the status of all devices associated with your Apple Card account.

Other Details

The agreement also confirms that Apple will not be offering any additional cards or supplementary cards. If your partner or other family member wants an Apple Card, they’ll have to apply for their own using their own Apple ID; it’s basically one card per Apple ID.

On a considerably less surprising note, you also won’t be able to use the Apple Card to purchase crytpocurrencies, since those are considered “cash equivalents” in the same way as cash advances. The agreement also similarly prohibits the purchase of casino chips and lottery tickets — which are already prohibited by the laws in many states anyway — along with the other usual collection of “cash equivalents” such as money orders, travellers cheques, and wire transfers. This restriction is common to just about every credit card, but if you were hoping the Apple Card might be different in this way, you’ll be disappointed.

It’s also not surprising considering Apple’s investment in its Business Chat services, but the agreement explicitly lays out Apple’s Messages app as a preferred method of contacting Goldman Sachs for questions, concerns, or customer support.

Although there’s not yet a specific date as to when you’ll be able to apply for the Apple Card, Apple CEO Tim Cook has already confirmed an early August launch, and with the recent publication of the cardholder agreement, it’s probably going to arrive very soon, for users in the U.S. at least; those elsewhere in the world are still going to have to wait a while longer.