Apple clarifies how Apple Card Family sharing will work

Apple used its Spring Forward event last month to announce the Apple Card Family which allows for co-ownership and family sharing of the company's credit card. As it gears up for launch, the company has provided more detailed information on how the new options will work — including age limits for participants and additional controls for owners — in a support document, as spotted by MacRumors. The changes will be familiar to anyone who's held a joint account or added authorized users to their credit card.

As an Apple Card owner, you can invite up to five members of your Family Sharing group to join, and select one of them to be a co-owner as long as they are at least 18 years of age. Whereas the other four participants can be as young as 13 years old.

Account co-owners will have their credit reported equally in their own name and share full responsibility for the account balance and all payments. They can also set multiple controls for participants, including spending limits; request a credit limit increase; receive unlimited daily cash back on their transactions and close a shared account.

Participants, on the other hand, are beholden to more restrictions depending on their age. They are not responsible for payments, they can view their own transaction history and can spend up to the credit limit on the account (though account owners or co-owners can set an optional transactional limit). In addition, they can use their shared Apple Card to get unlimited daily cash on transactions. Those aged 18 and above can can opt-in to build their credit, be reported on the account and can also order a titanium Apple Card.

Apple also warns that all members of Apple Card Family are impacted by credit reporting, based on their payment history and credit utilization. This information is "reported to credit bureaus and shown in credit bureau reports for account owners and co-owners" and also applies to a participant who is an authorized user. For accounts that show regular timely payments and low balances, the family sharing option can help to build more positive credit scores for all users, according to Apple.

Once the option goes live, Apple Card owners will be able to invite family members by tapping on the Wallet app, selecting the ‌Apple Card‌, tapping the "More" button, and under People, choosing the "Share My Card" option. Apple previously said that Apple Card Family would arrive in May via an iOS update.