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Half of Apple fanbois would bank with the iPad titan

Foxconn-rebranding biz already has your cards and cash

One in 10 punters polled in the US and UK admitted they would bank with Apple if the iPad maker decided to move into the money sector. Among Apple product owners, 43 per cent of those quizzed would consider dumping their current banks for the iPhone biz.

Two thirds of the 5,000 surveyed fanbois said they'd switch to a notional AppleBank because they trusted the company, and a half of them reckoned Apple would make their account easy to access and manage.

David Rankin, boss of research consultancy KAE that carried out the study with pollster Toluna, believes banking is an obvious next step for the computer makers:

Apple would face no capital constraints in building a deposits base. With a proven ability to cross-sell additional products, along with the highest sales per square foot of any retailer and an affluent customer base, it wouldn't take long for Apple to become one of the most profitable consumer banks in recent times.

Lee Powney, marketing chief at KAE, added that "it would take a remarkable display of discipline [for Apple] to resist" moving into banking. The survey concludes that Apple would massively disrupt any industry it got involved in, as Powney explains:

This research tells us Apple customers perceive a fit where at first glance we would assume the brand could not travel […] This makes it a truly dangerous animal to a startling array of sectors

Tremble, bankers.

Maybe the notion of an AppleBank isn't so crazy after all: the tech titan already has a huge list of credit card details for all its App and iTunes store punters, and is encouraging the sale of more stuff through its online shop. The company has filed patents for putting pay-by-bonk chips in phones, effectively turning iPhones into credit cards.

If the Foxconn-rebranding biz acts as a shop, then simply issuing credit cards, holding account details and running a bank wouldn't be such a big jump. Plus if you're already in the habit of giving Apple large wads of cash, it might be simpler just to hand over your whole lot. ®

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