Apple and Goldman were planning stock-trading feature for iPhones until markets turned last year

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As equities soared in 2020 and consumers flocked to trading apps like Robinhood, Apple and Goldman Sachs were working on an investing feature that would let consumers buy and sell stocks, according to three people familiar with the plans.

The project was shelved last year as the markets turned south, said the sources, who asked not to be named because they weren't authorized to speak on the matter.

The effort, which has not been previously reported, would have added to Apple's suite of financial products powered by Goldman. Apple first teamed up with the Wall Street bank to offer a credit card in 2019, and then added buy now, pay later (BNPL) loans and a high-yield savingsaccount. The company said last month that the savings account offering had climbed past $10 billion in user deposits.

Representatives for Apple and Goldman declined to comment.

Apple was working on the investing feature at a time of zero interest rates during Covid, when consumers were stuck at home and spending more of their time and their record savings in trading shares, including meme stocks like GameStop and AMC, from their smartphones.

Apple's conversations with Goldman began during that hype cycle in 2020, two sources said. Their work progressed, and an Apple investing feature was meant to roll out in 2022. One hypothetical use case pitched by executives involved the ability for iPhone users with extra cash to put money into Apple shares, one person said.

But as markets were roiled by higher rates and soaring inflation, the Apple team feared user backlash if people lost money in the stock market with the assistance of an Apple product, the sources said. That's when the iPhone maker and Goldman switched directions and pushed the