Goldman Sachs (GS) and Apple (AAPL) have to pay $89.8 million for sidestepping legal obligations to their joint credit card customers, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced Wednesday.
The regulator said Apple failed to send tens of thousands of consumer disputes of Apple Card transactions to Goldman Sachs. When Apple did send the disputes, the bank did not follow numerous federal requirements for investigating the disputes, according to a press release from the regulator.
Goldman will pay $64.8 million. Of that total, $19.8 million will go back to consumers, while the bank will pay the other $45 million in penalties to the regulator. Separately, Apple will pay the CFPB $25 million for its role in marketing and servicing the Apple Card.
"Apple and Goldman Sachs illegally sidestepped their legal obligations for Apple Card borrowers," CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a statement, noting that the alleged misconduct affected hundreds of thousands of Apple Card customers.
The CFPB is banning Goldman from launching a new credit card unless it "can demonstrate that it can actually follow the law," Chopra added.
The regulator also said Apple and Goldman misled many consumers into believing they would automatically get interest-free monthly payments when buying Apple devices. Instead, those same customers were charged interest.
Additionally, the CFPB said Goldman misled consumers about the application of some refunds, which led to consumers paying additional interest charges.
"Big Tech companies and big Wall Street firms should not behave as if they are exempt from federal law," Chopra added.
"We worked diligently to address certain technological and operational challenges that we experienced after launch and have already handled them with impacted customers," Nick Carcaterra, Goldman Sachs spokesperson said in a statement. "We are pleased to have reached a resolution with the CFPB," Carcaterra added.
Both stocks fell Wednesday morning. Apple is down 2% as of noon, while Goldman is roughly flat.
In striking a card partnership with Apple in 2019, Goldman Sachs extended credit to consumers and handled servicing of their accounts, while Apple was in charge of the consumer interface design, marketing, and advertising.
As part of the agreement, Apple had the right to impose a $25 million penalty for each 90-day delay caused by Goldman.
The CFPB said its investigation found that Goldman's board of directors learned that critical Apple Card dispute systems were “not fully ready” due to technological issues four days before launch. The companies proceeded anyway.