Samsung, Google To Release Own Credit Cards After Apple Card? Experts Say ’No’

Of course, the obvious question following Apple’s release of its own “Apple Card” credit card on March 25 is, “Will Samsung and Google do an Apple?”

At this stage, the answer seems to be, "No."

It’s not that Samsung (the world’s leading maker of smartphones) or Google (the undisputed world leader in search) don't want to be seen as copycats. It’s more that Apple Card, thus far, is having an underwhelming impact on both the financial and tech markets.

This might not be a fair comment since it’s only been five days since Apple Card debuted. But the word on the financial street is none too encouraging. To the flood of credit cards issued by banking and financial institutions are those from tech firms such as PayPal, Square and Venmo (which is owned by PayPal). And now, Apple.

Apple doesn’t stand out in this plethora of credit cards, even with its much-hyped features.

"I doubt that Google and Samsung are losing a lot of sleep over this card," Ted Rossman told CNET, analyst at CreditCards.com, a card comparison site owned by Bankrate.

Apple Card is both a digital service stored in Apple Wallet and an actual physical card for use where Apple Pay isn't accepted. Apple expects the bulk of Apple Card users to opt for the digital version.

What Apple seems to have forgotten is that growth in mobile payment services, like its own Apple Pay, has stagnated. Less than a third of iPhone owners have used Apple Pay at least once, according to a study.

Analysts said Apple Card is an acknowledgement from Apple that mobile payments haven't still caught and needs another push.

And another reason why Samsung and Google might not do their own credit cards anytime soon is the well-known fact the credit card industry in the U.S. is heavily regulated. And the competition is vicious, to say the least.

Good old American credit card firms with decades of experience aren’t going to ease-up on their primal urge to crush a new competitor, and a lightweight techie at that. This might give Samsung and Google pause, even if Samsung runs a credit-card company called Samsung Card in South Korea and even if Google once offered a physical debit card for Google Wallet.

"My gut on that is they wouldn't necessarily jump in unless they saw that this Apple move was successful," said Matt Schulz, an analyst at CompareCards, a card comparison site.

Other analysts, however, do believe a credit card is in the cards for Google and Samsung, but only time will tell.