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Do you have a Capital One credit card? The Discover merger could change the way we pay

Capital One announced plans last year to acquire Discover in 2025 for $35.3 billion. The upcoming acquisition is not final, but could spell changes for Capital One cardholders currently on the Visa or Mastercard networks.

“Capital One said it will transition its cards from the Visa and Mastercard payment networks to the Discover card network,” he said. Jason Steelea CNET Money expert review board member and credit card expert.

If you are a Capital One cardholder, this may limit where you can use your credit card.

How a change in the Capital One payment network could have an impact

Discover is one of the four major credit card networkswith Visa, Mastercard and American Express. Right now, Capital One offers Visa and Mastercard credit cards, but it would switch to Discover if the acquisition goes through.

Why does this matter? Discover’s network is smaller than Visa and Mastercard and is not accepted anywhere in the United States or abroad.

“While many countries where Discover is not widely accepted are places that are not popular tourist destinations, some are,” Steele said. For example, Discover is not accepted in Panama, Kenya and Serbia, according to their website. In countries where Discover is accepted, the rules may vary by store.

Steele also added that Discover is not currently accepted by all major US retailers, such as Costco.

How to prepare for the Capital One and Discover merger

If you depend on your Capital One credit card as your primary payment method, you may want to look for a Visa or Mastercard backup — especially when you’re traveling abroad. This will ensure that you can cover a payment if a merchant does not accept cards in the Discover network.

Although this acquisition is not a guarantee, experts expect it to happen. If the merger goes through, keep an eye out for updates from Discover or Capital One about any changes.




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2025-01-08 01:09:00

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