Personal Finance News
Discover Bank Discontinues New Account Applications
Eight months after Capital One completed its acquisition of Discover, applications for Discover banking products have been discontinued.
About Discover Bank’s Application End:
As first noticed by Doctor of Credit, Discover Bank is no longer accepting new account applications, including those for checking and savings accounts. Instead, the landing page for those services directs customers to Capital One. At this time, current accountholders are unaffected and can still log in to manage their accounts. Additionally, other Discover products — including the popular Discover It card — are still available for new applicants. Additionally, it appears as though Discover Personal Loan applications continue to be open.
While Capital One and Discover’s high-yield savings products are similar (with both currently offering 3.30% APY), there are some significant differences in their checking accounts. Namely, Discover’s aptly named Cashback Checking offers 1% cashback on debit card purchases, capped at $3,000 per month in spending. Meanwhile, Capital One’s 360 Checking has no such feature. Nevertheless, neither account has any fees or account minimums. Additionally, Capital One has transitioned its 360 Checking account debit cards to the Discover payment network.
My Thoughts:
Incidentally, Discover was my first online bank experience as well as my first high-yield savings account. It also remains one of my most-used — especially following the fallout of the Yotta/Synapse/Evolve debacle, which led to growing skepticism about FinTech-bank partnerships. Of course, Capital One is also a fully-licensed bank (and one I also have deposit accounts with), but it is a little sad that my beloved Discover accounts likely have their days numbered. Although, to be clear, we have no timeline for such a change as of this writing.
For those who were hoping to open a Discover Cashback Checking account, it’s disappointing that this is no longer an option. Moreover, now that the merger has impacted new accounts, it seems only a matter of time before cashback on debit card purchases is phased out entirely. Again, though, we don’t know this for a fact.
With all of that said, if you are considering a checking account with Capital One, they are currently offering a $250 bonus. To qualify, you’ll just need to use the code CHECKING250 when opening the account and then receive at least two direct deposits of $500 or more within 75 days of account opening. By the way, I’d recommend that current Discover Bank customers also take advantage of this offer ASAP, since they’ll likely be ineligible if/when their Discover account transitions to Capital One.
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