Discover Financial Services, Inc. is an American financial services company that owns and operates Discover Bank, an online bank that offers checking and savings accounts, personal loans, home equity loans, and credit cards.

Altogether, these companies operated as a Sears subsidiary called Dean Witter Financial Services Group, Inc.

In April 2005, Morgan Stanley announced that it would divest Discover Financial Services as an independent company within six months.

By June, industry sources reported that Morgan Stanley was reassessing its plan to spin off Discover.

However, on December 19, 2006, during a fourth quarter earnings report, Morgan Stanley CEO John J. Mack announced Discover would be spun off as a standalone publicly traded company by the end of August 2007, stating that both companies will be better positioned for growth and success as separate entities.

[9] That Spring, the Attorney General of New York launched an investigation into whether the proposed takeover of Discover would violate state anti-trust laws.

[10] In July 2024, a proposed consumer class action lawsuit was filed in Virginia, claiming that the acquisition would be in violation of federal antitrust laws, and form the largest U.S. credit card issuer by balance and sixth-largest U.S. bank by assets.

[13] In 2005, Discover Financial Services acquired Pulse, an interbank electronic funds transfer payments network.

This allowed Pulse and its more than 4,000 member banks, credit unions, and savings institutions to join with the Discover Network's four million merchant and cash access locations.

The creation of an international network for Discover and Diners Club cardholders allowed customers to expand their global reach.

On September 17, 2010, Discover Financial Services announced it would acquire Citigroup-owned Student Loan Corporation for $30/share.

On June 6, 2012, Tree.com, Inc. completed the sale of substantially all of the operating assets of its Home Loan Center, Inc. business to a wholly owned subsidiary of Discover Financial.

It was named the Discover 2GO Card and was recognized as one of the "Best Products of 2002" by editors and reporters from Business Week and USA Today.

On March 5, 2002, the company announced that the Account Center at Discovercard.com had registered over eight million card members, an increase of 61% since January 2001.

[22] On September 1, 2002, Discover announced that Citibank would accept the Discover® Card for cash advances at its approximately 450 Financial Centers and more than 2,000 ATM locations nationwide.

Discover also introduced the option for paperless statements to minimize the impact on the environment and reduce clutter for customers.

Shortly after the Supreme Court ruling, Discover struck its first deal to have its cards issued by another financial institution, GE Consumer Finance, which began to issue credit cards for retailer Walmart and its wholesale warehouse stores, Sam's Club.

The Discover More card was designed for consumers who use credit in many different categories and provided them with more ways to earn cash back on their purchases.

Following the 2007–2008 financial crisis, Discover received about $1.2 billion in bailout funds under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

In September 2012, Discover Financial Services was ordered to pay over $200 million in fines and customer reimbursements to settle accusations by U.S. federal regulators that it had engaged in deceptive telemarketing tactics.

Discover also introduced Discover Home Equity Loans, offering homeowners the opportunity to simplify their finances inclusive of supporting home improvement projects, paying for major expenses, or consolidating debt into a single, fixed monthly payment.

Vice versa, cardholders of other countries may utilize their cards at U.S. merchants and financial institutions that accept Discover.

In 2011 and 2012, Discover participated and won the Grand Marshal award for excellence in creative concept and design in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena.

In 2017, Discover was named the first ever presenting sponsor and official credit card of the Big Ten Football Conference and Championship Game as part of a multi-year sponsorship.

[40] In the United States, Discover, as a card network, competes primarily with Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.