I’ve been paying close attention to Apple’s push into financial services. It’s a huge company. Financial services for consumers and small businesses is one of the few markets large enough to move the needle for a company of Apple’s size. I’ve thought that Apple becoming a financial services company makes a ton of sense. Everything is going digital, and consumers are shifting from in-person banking to digital banking. This has created an amazing opportunity for Apple that it can’t ignore. Apple’s products, such as the iPhone, are the perfect distribution network for digital banking products and services.

Apple officially announced its Apple Pay Later loan product this week. The interesting revelation is that Apple is handling key financial tasks internally and has created a separate legal entity to do so. This is a first. It’s usually partnered with other firms, such as Goldman Sachs, to handle these types of tasks. Read more here.

Banking for consumers and small businesses is overdue for disruption. Offerings from banks don’t meet the expectations of their smaller customers. The banking experience for consumers and small businesses will improve drastically over the next few years, and I can’t wait!