Chase launches in Germany: What will happen to the Apple Card? Apfelpatient

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The major US bank Chase officially launched in Germany this week, offering its first retail banking product in the German market. For the Apple community, this move is more than just a side note: Chase will be acquiring the Apple Card from Goldman Sachs within the next two years. This naturally raises the question of whether the Apple Card's market entry in Germany is now imminent. The sobering answer is: hardly.

With its launch in Berlin on May 20, 2026, JPMorgan Chase is consistently expanding its presence in the European retail banking market. After the UK, Germany is the second European market where the bank is establishing its own independent retail offering. This presents Apple with an interesting structural advantage – in January 2026, Apple officially selected Chase as the new issuer of the Apple Card, thus initiating the transition from Goldman Sachs. Nevertheless, several factors suggest that the Apple Card will not be available in Germany in the foreseeable future.

What Chase offers in Germany

Chase is starting with a free savings account operated by JP Morgan SE, based in Berlin. Savers receive a promotional interest rate of four percent per year for the first four months, followed by a variable base interest rate of two percent. This positions Chase at the upper end of the current savings account market – a classic incentive to quickly build up deposits.

The account is managed entirely digitally. Opening, administration, and customer service are handled via the app; customer service is also available by phone and chat. By the end of 2028, Chase plans to expand its offerings to include checking accounts, investment products, and loans. Only then would a credit card product in the strictest sense be included in the portfolio – thus fulfilling the technical requirements for a German Apple Card.

Who is behind Chase Germany

Chase is the retail banking brand of the JPMorgan Chase Group, which, with total assets of $4.9 trillion (as of March 31, 2026), is one of the world's largest banks. The group already employs more than 900 people in Germany, though almost exclusively in investment banking, corporate banking, and asset management. Chase, as a purely retail banking offering, represents a new pillar of the business. The Berlin office was established as the German headquarters at the end of 2025 and is headed by Daniel Llano Manibardo.

Chase launched in the UK in 2021 and has since acquired over three million customers there. The company expects a marathon, not a sprint, in Germany: Llano had told the Handelsblatt explained that the company wants to "stay long-term and not take any unnecessary shortcuts".

Why the Apple Card isn't coming to Germany so quickly

Even though Chase now serves both markets – the USA with the Apple Card and Germany with its own banking products – several structural obstacles stand in the way of a rapid expansion of the Apple Card.

The US transition binds Chase until 2028

Apple and Chase have scheduled the transition from Goldman Sachs for approximately 24 months. This means that even in the US, the complete switchover won't be finished until early 2028. While Chase is remarkably optimistic about the card's profitability trajectory, the operational burden of the migration ties up resources that, based on current information, are primarily being channeled into the US rollout and the parallel development of the German retail business. Launching the Apple Card in a second country before then would be logistically improbable. The German product roadmap already extends to the end of 2028 and treats credit card products as a later addition.

Margins are structurally lower in Germany

The real reason, however, lies in the credit card business model. In the US, cards like the Apple Card are primarily financed through interest on revolving credit card balances. The Apple Card currently officially ranges between 17.49 and 27.74 percent variable effective annual interest rate, depending on the cardholder's creditworthiness. The card itself is free of charge – interest is only charged on the portion of the balance that users don't fully repay each month. This is not unusual in the US market – credit cards are considered the standard form of consumer financing there.

The market operates differently in Germany. Effective annual interest rates between 17 and 28 percent would be perceived as significantly excessive here; consumer protection agencies scrutinize such ranges more closely, and competing products like installment loans or overdraft facilities typically offer considerably lower rates. The economic foundation that supports the US business is therefore lacking in the German market – and without this margin, a card with a cashback program, savings account, and free support for Apple and Chase is more difficult to operate profitably.

Apple Pay largely covers the strategic added value in Germany

A key reason for the introduction of the Apple Card in the US at the time was the widespread adoption of Apple Pay. In Germany, Apple Pay has long been available through virtually all major banks – from savings banks and cooperative banks to direct banks and FinTechs. The initial boost that the Apple Card was intended to provide in the US as a gateway to Apple Pay is simply not needed in the German market.

Financing offers in the Apple Store, another strategic lever of the Apple Card, are already handled through other partners in this country and are not tied to a specific Apple product.

What a German Apple Card would even require

Even if Chase and Apple were to take the plunge, the effort would be considerable. A German version of the Apple Card would have to be adapted to local credit checks, Schufa processes, German consumer protection requirements, European fee regulations, German-language support, and European data protection requirements. Furthermore, there would be EU regulations on interchange fees, which would further restrict the commission-based model common in the US.

To do all that for a product with an unclear platform effect – that's not an attractive business scenario, neither for Chase nor for Apple. Even Apple's global rollout of the Apple Card, which Tim Cook personally promised at the time, hasn't materialized for years.

What Chase Germany still means for Apple users

Even without an Apple Card in Germany, Chase's market entry could shake up the payments market. With attractive promotional interest rates on savings accounts and a modern digital offering, Chase is entering into direct competition with N26, Revolut, Trade Republic, and C24. Apple Pay integration is to be expected from a modern direct bank like Chase, although not yet confirmed – once the current account goes live, this is likely to be one of the first features implemented.

For Apple users in Germany, Chase would thus be an additional option in the portfolio of banks whose cards can be easily integrated into Apple Wallet. But that's all for now. The Apple Card remains, for the time being, what it has been since 2019: a US-exclusive product with an uncertain international future.

Apple's financial strategy is becoming more global, but not the same everywhere

Chase's switch to Apple in the US and the bank's entry into the German market are two parallel events that are structurally unrelated. Apple has been consistently broadening its services business for years, with quarterly revenue in the services segment now exceeding $28 billion. However, the scenario of the Apple Card becoming a global leader in this field is not more likely based on today's data – only more theoretically conceivable. The practical step into the German market would pose challenges for Chase, Apple, and the German regulatory authorities alike, and there is no indication that this move is seriously on the agenda for the next two to three years. (Image: Shutterstock / Primakov)