Fintech startups are not as disruptive as they might be because they are not “full-stack” companies, Ron Shevlin wrote at Forbes. Can Apple beat them at their own game and became a full-stack bank, he wondered? Probably not.
Apple likes to tout that its new credit card was created “by Apple, not a bank.” I guess we should pay no attention to the folks from Goldman Sachs and MasterCard behind the curtain. Apple’s moves with Apple Card, Apple Pay, and Apple Cash are big moves towards a full(er)-stack bank, but the company is hampered by one big weakness: It’s DNA is in tech products. For all the innovative moves Apple makes across industries like financial services, entertainment, and health, one thing is constant: It wants to sell devices. This prevents Apple from achieving the openness needed to become a full-stack bank.
