Apple's Credit Card Gender Bias Problem Is Symptomatic Of Larger Issues

The concept of oligopolistic tech companies getting into finance is worrisome enough that otherwise normally compliant lawmakers have largely derailed Facebook's crypto project.

That Apple launched a new card without more carefully testing it confirms concerns about who is coding these products - and who is supervising the coders. JL


Billy Bambrough reports in Forbes:

Apple launched its credit card in partnership with Goldman Sachs. An awkward row has erupted over Apple's credit limit algorithms, suggesting the iPhone-maker is discriminating against women. A tech entrepreneur (said)  his spouse had a better credit score and other factors in her favor but her application for a credit line increase had been denied by Apple. (And) Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak was offered 10 times more credit on Apple's card than his wife. "Any algorithm that  results in discriminatory treatment of women or any other protected class violates New York law,”

Apple, the company behind the revolutionary iPhone, made waves when it announced it was jumping headfirst in the finance industry earlier this year with a hotly-anticipated credit card.

Apple launched its credit card in partnership with Wall Street banking giant Goldman Sachs over the summer, promising a "new kind of credit card, created by Apple, not a bank."
However, an awkward row has erupted over Apple's credit limit algorithms, with a prominent tech entrepreneur suggesting the iPhone-maker is discriminating against women.
Last week, tech entrepreneur David Heinemeier Hansson took to Twitter to complain Apple's credit card offered him a credit limit 20 times higher than his wife's.
Hansson added that his spouse, Jamie Hansson, had a better credit score and other factors in her favor but her application for a credit line increase had been denied by the iPhone-maker.
"My wife and I filed joint tax returns, live in a community-property state, and have been married for a long time," Hansson wrote. "Yet Apple’s black box algorithm thinks I deserve 20x the credit limit she does."
Following the complaint, the New York State Department of Financial Services has said it will investigate the credit limit algorithms used by Apple Card. "Any algorithm that intentionally or not results in discriminatory treatment of women or any other protected class violates New York law,” an agency spokeswoman said in a statement.
The row has caught the attention of other technology industry watchers, who have echoed Hansson's complaint. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has claimed he was offered 10 times more credit on Apple's card than his wife, suggesting there could no reason for the two different calculations.
"We have no separate bank or credit card accounts or any separate assets," said on Twitter, in reply to Hansson’s original tweet.
"Hard to get to a human for a correction though. It’s big tech in 2019."
Apple has not responded to a request for comment, while MasterCard, which provides support for Apple Card’s global payments network, referred questions to Goldman Sachs.
Apple, which has been looking to diversify away from its ailing iPhone cash cow, is not allowing users of its credit card to purchase bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies after some had hoped Apple's jump into finance might signal it could be taking an interest in crypto.