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Goldman Sachs

“Can Goldman Sachs monetize its balance sheet, risk infrastructure, and API platform by embedding institutional-grade financial products into third-party ecosystems and corporate treasury workflows?”

Founded1869
HQNew York, NY, USA
FoundersMarcus Goldman, Samuel Sachs
IndustryBank / National
The story

Goldman Sachs launched Marcus in 2016 as an ambitious direct-to-consumer digital bank, expanding into credit cards (Apple Card, GM Card), merchant lending (Amazon partnership), and installment finance (MarcusPay). By 2022–2023 the consumer banking push was broadly acknowledged as a costly strategic misstep, with the firm booking billions in losses on its consumer segment. Goldman pivoted back toward its institutional and corporate core, winding down Marcus consumer products and doubling down on Transaction Banking (TxB) — an API-first platform serving corporate treasurers — and on its Enterprise Partnerships model, which embeds Goldman's financial products (credit cards, savings) inside third-party ecosystems like Apple and Amazon.

Last 12 months
2024-02
Product timeline
1869
Founded as a commercial paper brokerage by Marcus Goldman in New York City.· pivot
1999
Goldman Sachs went public on the NYSE, converting from a private partnership to a publicly traded company.· ipo
2016
Launched Marcus by Goldman Sachs, a direct-to-consumer digital bank offering personal loans and high-yield savings accounts.· banking
2019
Launched Apple Card in partnership with Apple, marking Goldman's entry into consumer credit cards powered by its own bank.· card
2020
Launched Transaction Banking (TxB) platform in the US, offering API-first cash management, payments, and deposit accounts to corporate clients.· banking
2020
Announced partnership with Amazon to offer Marcus-branded credit lines of up to $1M for Amazon marketplace merchants.· lending
2021
Partnered with Marqeta to launch Marcus checking accounts with debit card issuance and real-time spending data.· banking
2021
Announced partnership with American Express to integrate virtual card technology into the Transaction Banking platform for corporate clients.· card
2022
Acquired NextCapital, a digital retirement advice provider, to power its Workplace Retirement Solution for SMBs.· acquisition
2023
Goldman Sachs began winding down most Marcus consumer banking operations after strategic review, exiting the General Motors card partnership and Apple Card negotiations.· pivot
Regulated entities
National Bank Charter
US · 2004
Goldman Sachs Bank USA
Bank Charter
Switzerland
Goldman Sachs Bank AG
Broker-dealer
US
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC
The stack
Payments / PSP
Goldman Sachs Transaction Banking (self-operated)
Banking / BaaS
Goldman Sachs Bank USA (in-house)
Card issuing
Marqeta
Lending
Marcus Personal LoansMarcusPay (point-of-sale installment loans)Amazon Merchant Credit Lines (up to $1M)Apple Card creditTransaction Banking credit facilities
FX & payouts
Goldman Sachs Transaction Banking (self-operated)
Accounting gap: none