Do you — or does someone you know — get a new iPhone every year through Apple's upgrade program?
An estimated 700,000–840,000 people in the U.S. are enrolled right now, all financing through Citizens Bank.
Here's what that means, and exactly how to get out.
Citizens Bank finances your iPhone through the Apple Upgrade Program. Citizens Bank is also the last major U.S. bank still funding the infrastructure of ICE mass detention at scale. Your monthly payment connects these two things. That makes your iPhone an ICEPhone — until you exit.
Citizens Bank is the only major U.S. bank still funding the two companies that operate more than half of all ICE detention facilities in America.
| JPMorgan Chase | ✓ Divested 2019 |
| Bank of America | ⚠ Divested 2019 — softening under political pressure |
| Wells Fargo | ⚠ Divested 2019 — softening under political pressure |
| Citibank | ✓ Divested 2019 |
| Goldman Sachs | ✓ Not a lender to private prisons |
| Citizens Bank | ✗ ACTIVE — Lead lender · $2.5B+ · Expanded Jan 2026 |
Sources: Philadelphia Inquirer (Mar 2026) · SEC filings · boycottcitizens.org
The program is brilliantly designed to feel like a deal. Most participants don't realize how much it costs them — or who it really benefits.
Citizens Bank finances more than just the iPhone Upgrade Program. All of these run through Citizens One — the same division that leads GEO Group and CoreCivic financing:
Check your credit report for any "Citizens One" or "Citizens Bank N.A." installment accounts to see your full exposure.
The genius: Before iUP, customers upgraded every 2–3 years. Apple needed annual upgraders. By offering 0% financing through Citizens (who took all the credit risk), Apple created a locked annual upgrade cycle — turning hardware buyers into subscribers. It worked.
The hidden bonus: Mandatory AppleCare+ bundled into every loan meant Apple guaranteed high-margin service revenue on every enrolled device, every month, collected through Citizens. AppleCare runs at roughly 60–70% gross margin.
Why Apple is moving on: Apple Card Monthly Installments (ACMI) does almost everything iUP does — but Apple owns the customer relationship, the data, and the interface. With ACMI, Apple doesn't need Citizens. Goldman Sachs (or successors) handle the financing, and Apple keeps far more of the value chain.
What this means: Citizens knows they're being disintermediated. That's one reason they're protecting this portfolio — and expanding into ICE detention financing — so aggressively. The iUP is both their crown jewel and a diminishing asset.
In months 8–11, your phone's private resale value exceeds your remaining loan balance. Exit now and you may break even or come out ahead — before the September cliff wipes out that advantage.
Are you in the Apple iPhone Upgrade Program — paying Apple monthly with a Citizens One loan?
How many months into your current loan are you?
After you're out of Citizens, what do you want for your next phone?
You're already out — or never in.
No Citizens Bank iPhone loan detected. Double-check your credit report for any "Citizens One" or "Citizens Bank N.A." installment accounts. If none exist, you have no Citizens exposure through Apple.
You can still help. An estimated 700,000–840,000 people in the U.S. are enrolled right now. Share this page with any iPhone owner who pays Apple monthly.
All paths below end your Citizens Bank relationship. Read the key mechanics first, then pick your path.
When a depositor withdraws $1,000 from Citizens, Citizens loses $1,000 of deposits. When an iUP subscriber exits, Citizens loses the loan balance plus the AppleCare+ fee stream, the windfall months, future loan originations, and a unit of proof for the Citizens Pay platform pitch. That accumulated value is estimated at $250–710 per subscriber over their lifetime — 4 to 8 times the average deposit account balance of an iUP participant.
And if you exit in the next 6 weeks alongside thousands of others: concentrated churn in a short window triggers analyst attention, press coverage, and platform credibility damage that compounds well beyond the direct financial impact. The GBIO churches withdrew $1M and got a meeting with the CEO. iUP participants withdrawing en masse is a different order of magnitude.
Here's the key mechanic most people don't know: When you exercise the iUP upgrade option, Apple pays off your remaining Citizens loan balance on your behalf — you never write a check. The trade-in of your old phone covers the balance. So you can use the upgrade process to exit Citizens without fronting any money, then simply not re-enroll in iUP and choose Apple Card Monthly Installments instead for your new phone.
Get your payoff balance from Citizens. Pay it off. Then sell your phone privately on Swappa or eBay — where you'll get 15–30% more than Apple's trade-in value. Use that money toward your next iPhone, financed through Apple Card ACMI. In months 8–11, private resale value often exceeds your remaining loan balance, meaning you can exit Citizens, sell the phone, and end up with money left over.
Pay off the remaining Citizens balance in a lump sum. The phone is yours. Keep using it — the average iPhone lasts well past 2 years and receives iOS updates for 5–6 years. When you're eventually ready to upgrade, trade it in to Apple, a carrier, or sell privately. Use whatever financing makes sense then. You're free of Citizens permanently.
AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile all run "switch and we'll pay off your old device" promotions — currently offering up to $800–$1,100 in device payoff or trade-in credits. These can cover your entire Citizens balance. You pay off Citizens first (or simultaneously), then receive credits applied to your monthly bill over 24–36 months. The math often makes this free — at the cost of a new carrier contract.
Continue payments through month 24. The account closes automatically. Then simply don't re-enroll in iUP. This is the easiest path and the least powerful one. Citizens earns float, AppleCare+ revenue, and windfall months from you until the end. But it still ends the relationship — and still permanently removes you from their subscriber base and platform proof metrics.
The iUP has an estimated 700,000–840,000 active U.S. subscribers. This is what concentrated exit in a 4–6 week window looks like.
Every option below gives you comparable monthly payments on a new iPhone — without Citizens Bank. All available right now.
0% APR over 24 months. 3% Daily Cash back on every Apple purchase. Financed through Goldman Sachs / Synchrony — not Citizens. Phone is unlocked. Apply in the Wallet app; approval is instant. Available for iPhones, Macs, iPads, Apple Watch.
apple.com/apple-card →36-month 0% APR. Trade-in credits up to $1,000 with unlimited plan. Credits paid over 36 months. Phone locked to AT&T until paid off. Strong promos at iPhone launch windows.
att.com →24-month financing. Switch promos up to $800 in payoff/trade-in credit. Go5G plan required for max credits. No separate loan account — folds into your monthly bill. Credits over 24 months.
t-mobile.com →36-month 0% APR. Payoff/trade-in credits up to $1,100 when switching with Unlimited Ultimate plan. Credits over 36 months — cancel early and you lose them.
verizon.com →Sell your current phone privately for 15–30% more than Apple trade-in. Use proceeds toward a new phone via ACMI. Unlocked phones sell in 3–7 days. Best outcome in months 8–11 when resale value can exceed remaining loan balance.
swappa.com →iUP locks you to AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile while enrolled. Once you own your phone outright, you can move to an MVNO running on those same networks for $15–45/month — saving $360–720/year. This is the hidden ongoing cost of staying enrolled.
visible.com →Both companies have the power to end this partnership. Apple is already moving toward ACMI. A visible, growing body of customers demanding they complete that transition — and demanding Microsoft follow — is the most direct pressure available.
You don't need to be in the program to send a letter. If you've ever paid Apple monthly for a phone, financed an Xbox through Citizens, or simply care about where banking money goes — you can write. Choose your approach below: personal letter or co-signatory. Both go directly to the right people.
Counts stored locally in your browser and aggregated across sessions. No personal data collected. Resets if you clear your browser storage.
Before you write — are you currently enrolled in Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program (Citizens Bank financing)?
EDIT THE LETTER BELOW — THEN CLICK SEND TO OPEN YOUR EMAIL CLIENT
Opens your email client addressed to Apple feedback. After sending, click "I sent it" below to add to the confirmed count.