Do you want to benefit from the security offered by Apple Card? Just use Apple Pay

Has a Glitzy launch event in Cupertino Monday, Apple launched the Apple Card, a new credit card proposed in collaboration with Goldman Sachs and Mastercard. Apple says it will solve many consumer frustrations with current credit cards: it will be easy to subscribe to the card, there will be no fees, and it will be easy to redeem rewards. The company also strongly asserts that the Apple Card "turns the credit card experience into … providing a new level of privacy and security".

But you do not have to wait for the release of the Apple card this summer to discover its security features. All you have to do is use Apple Pay and the credit card you already have.

"Nothing really changes with the Apple card," said Avivah Litan, vice president of research at the Gartner Analysis and Consulting Company. "He's a genius, actually. They have already built the entire Apple Pay infrastructure and have been adopted in an extraordinary way around the world. It is therefore a competitive initiative. "

When you add a credit card to Apple Wallet to use with Apple Pay, whether it's an Apple card or another credit card, the service turns cryptographically the credit card number and other details into a single card identity stored in the "secure element" of Apple. for extra protection. Making a transaction via Apple Pay then requires a unique identifier, a one-time security code, as well as an additional biometric verification on your part via FaceID or TouchID. In this way, your real credit card number is never forwarded for the transaction, and a fraudster would need the unique transaction code, your face or your fingerprint to bill for unauthorized charges. These same security benefits will extend to Apple Card.

While there have been examples of Apple Pay fraud since its launch in 2014, security advocates generally view these protections as a solid improvement over traditional credit card transactions. But in cases where Apple Pay is not an option, the Apple card is, in terms of protections, a typical credit card.

The physical card is exactly the minimalist engraved titanium slice that you would expect from Apple, and you need a good measure of security by displaying only your name, without a card or CVV number. But if you use the card in a store for a transaction with a regular chip, it seems to work like any other credit card. There is no technology in the map itself; he can not make contactless payments. Based on the pictures of the Apple announcement, the card also appears to feature a magnetic stripe on the back, which has its own set of security concerns. And although the card number is not displayed physically, you can access it in Apple Wallet and use it to make online purchases, just as you would with another credit card. Apple would prefer that you do online transactions with Apple Pay anyway, but if you do not, there will be no other special Apple Card attributes that would protect you.

In addition, the agreement between Apple and Goldman Sachs and Mastercard – as the issuing bank and payment network, respectively – is a standard configuration for a brand card.

"In general, for all merchants, this will be treated as another Mastercard transaction and all these rules will be respected," said John Drechny, CEO of the Merchant Advisory Group, an independent industry body. "And if merchants accept the card online, they will still have the same liability regime vis-à-vis the payment network.I do not believe it will be different from a normal co-branded deal."

As with any other credit card, the bank and the payment network involved in the routing and execution of transactions will have normal access to the data. Which is not so bad. Banks analyze consumers' financial data to detect trends and try to reduce fraud. They usually share and sell this data for other purposes.

This is an area in which Apple Card could stand out and would be consistent with the company's focus on data privacy. Apple said in its announcement that "Goldman Sachs will never share or sell your data to third parties for marketing or advertising purposes." Apple did not indicate whether Mastercard had agreed to not share or sell user data and did not return WIRED's request for comment.

In the case of Apple, the company stated that it would have no access to user transaction data or purchase information. Apple Card features to help users track their spend and analyze survey information will all be populated locally on users' devices, not on Apple servers.

"Apple is making the most of both worlds by becoming a card issuer and partnering with a bank," says Gartner's Litan, about Apple's decision to prevent it from happening. Access user data. "They can keep their nose clean."

Overall, Apple's efforts to increase the use of Apple Pay are commendable from a security and anti-fraud standpoint. And it is clear that the purpose of the Apple Card is to promote the adoption and use of Apple Pay. But the Apple card is a bit more common.

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