Apple has filed for a a patent for viewing “payment milestones to improve your financial help” using its Apple Card/Apple Pay services.
About the patent filing
In the patent filing, Apple says that tTypical financial statements aren’t designed with the best interests of a customer in mind. Credit card statements, for example, typically provide only required statement categories such as a minimum due, a balance from the previous statement, and the total amount owed.
Apple says that, unfortunately, listing these required statement categories gives some customers a false sense that there are no other options. Even if they may realize they can pay any amount they desire, many customers don’t have the financial literacy or don’t take the time, to be able to figure out a healthier option than paying the minimum. Apple says that some customers feel they have paid their bill when they pay the minimum amount due. Whereas, in reality, paying the minimum balance hurts the customer by accruing interest charges. In some instances, the interest owed might be greater than the minimum amount due. Apple doesn’t want such confusion when using the Apple Card and Apple Pay.
Summary of the patent filing
Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent filing: “The disclosed technology provides enhanced financial statements such as credit statements that provide customized payment options to a customer that takes into account the total amount owed by the customer, and past payments made by the customer. The customized payment options are determined with the goal of providing more payment options that encourage financial health, while not overwhelming the customer with too many options or irrelevant options.
“The customized payment options can be displayed in an interactive user interface for paying a credit statement that can visually inform a user of the benefit of the respective payment options with respect to the impact of the respective payment option on the customer’s financial health—at least as it pertains to a credit account for which the statement was issued.”
