In the run up to Apple’s big event yesterday, the expected announcement of new and improved Apple TV dominated the airwaves. It may turn out to be the most important launch for Apple yet, pitching it against Netflix and other streaming giants. However, for us in payments, the big announcement was the news that Apple is to launch its own credit card.

Sceptics might say that nothing in Apple Card is truly new. However, this is the first credit card that is issued first and foremost into a mobile device, with a companion plastic card printed as an add-on, rather than the other way around. And just like there is a difference between mobile banking and mobile-first banking, Apple Card promises to be a different experience to other cards simply loaded into the Apple wallet. Incidentally, Apple is not becoming an issuer; that role is performed by Goldman Sachs Bank, which will be issuing the cards on a Mastercard network.