Goldman Sachs doesn’t want consumers to carry all that credit card debt and it’s presenting an alternative. Meet Marcus at marcus.com — Marcus will lend consumers up to $30,000 at a fixed interest rate, with no fee for the loans. Consumers can borrow for a two-year period up to six years. One advantage of using Marcus — as opposed to regulation credit card debt — is that the Marcus interest rates are locked in. (Credit cards can, and often do, change their rates after the money is spent.) One aspect of a Marcus loan will remind consumers of many credit card deals, however: the Marcus rates go all the way up to 22.99% APR. (“Only the most creditworthy applicants qualify for the lowest rates.” Marcus states. The lowest Marcus loan interest rate is listed at 5.99%.)
Not everyone is yet eligible. Insiders (this is Goldman, after all) were given an early adopters code and can begin to use Marcus now. Others can sign up to receive a notice when Goldman opens Marcus up more broadly. Marcus is named after Goldman Sachs co-founder Marcus Goldman, who would certainly be surprised by the chiefly digital enterprise: Goldman died in 1904 at the age of 82.
[Related: Reverse Mortgage eligibility — what can you use the money for?]
