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Capital One announced on Monday its intention to acquire Discover® Bank in an all-stock transaction valued at $35.3 billion—set to close in late 2024 or early 2025.

These institutions are two of the biggest names in credit cards and digital banking, and Discover also operates a payment processing network like Visa and Mastercard. In addition to credit cards, both institutions offer checking accounts, savings accounts and other banking products that are known for their competitive interest rates and convenience.

The deal still needs to receive regulatory approval, so it will likely be a while before Capital One and Discover customers see any changes to their accounts. While it’s too soon to say what will happen, there are several ways Discover’s bank accounts might fit into Capital One’s portfolio.

Annual percentage yields (APYs) and account details are accurate as of February 21, 2024.

What the Capital One and Discover Deal Could Mean for Banking Customers

Capital One has confirmed it plans to maintain Discover branded credit cards, but it has not commented on Discover’s banking products yet.

Customers shouldn’t expect to see any change until the acquisition is approved and finalized, but eventually, Capital One could migrate Discover account holders to comparable Capital One accounts or continue to offer Discover’s banking products separately. Both Capital One and Discover have similar accounts with high APYs and minimal fees.

Impact on Savings Accounts

The acquisition gives Capital One the chance to add Discover’s competitive money market account—a product Capital One currently lacks—to its host of banking products. The Discover® Money Market Account pays 4.15% APY for balances under $100,000 and 4.20% APY for balances $100,000 and over. This account has no fees or minimum balance requirement.

Both Discover and Capital One offer similar online savings accounts with competitive APYs and no fees. The Discover® Bank Online Savings Account pays 4.30% APY, whereas the Capital One 360 Performance Savings Account pays 4.35% APY. So Capital One’s online savings account options shouldn’t change much.

Capital One’s array of CD terms may expand and become more competitive post-acquisition, as Discover® Certificates of Deposit currently offers more options for term lengths—three months to 10 years. However, the Capital One Certificates of Deposit pays a slightly higher APY than Discover’s—up to 5.00%.

Impact on Checking Accounts and Debit Cards

Depending on how the acquisition shakes out, current Discover banking customers could lose the Discover® Cashback Debit Checking, which consistently ranks among Forbes Advisor’s best checking accounts. Customers with this account currently earn 1% cash back on up to $3,000 in debit card purchases each month. See website for details. The account has no fees and offers access to 60,000 fee-free ATMs.

As for the Capital One 360 Checking Account, its current debit card is a Mastercard that may or may not transition to Discover’s payment processing network. The 360 Checking account pays 0.10% on all balance tiers, has no fees and allows customers to receive direct deposits up to two days early.

Impact on Customer Service

Discover has excellent customer service—a 100% U.S.-based team that is available by phone 24/7. It ranked second in customer satisfaction for checking providers and first for savings providers, according to J.D. Power’s most recent U.S. Direct Banking Satisfaction Study. However, the same can’t be said for Capital One, which didn’t make the top three, nor does it offer a U.S.-based customer service team.

Many customers are wondering if Capital One will keep Discover’s customer service team to bolster its own customer satisfaction ratings. Among many other things, Capital One has yet to disclose the future of its customer service.

Find The Best High-Yield Savings Accounts Of 2024



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