Should Your Business Accept Discover Card? Here are the Key Benefits

Are you considering credit cards for your business? In such a scenario, there are some specific card giants that come into your mind –including, MasterCard, American Express, Visa, and others. However, there are specific financial companies offering credit card services that do not limit the users to just a few options. Amongst these, the Discover Card is gaining huge impetus amongst the business owners across the world due to the wide range of benefits and specialized features offered by the same.

History of Discover Card

Discover Card was developed by Dean Witter Financial Services Group Inc. during the early 1980s. In a matter of one year, the overall market of credit card was on the rise. As such, Discover Card aimed at standing out from the others by offering access to some additional perks. For instance, it did not charge any annual fee –quite a rarity back then. Moreover, it was also known to provide cash back rewards to the cardholders –it served to be a return of a small percentage of the total purchase amount in the form of cash to the account of the users.

In comparison to MasterCard and Visa, that are issued via banks, Discover is known to be its individual issuer as well as network –quite similar to the card giant American Express. The card gets issued through the Discover Bank –a subsidiary of Discover Financial Services. In addition to offering credit card services to the end users, Discover Bank is also known to function like an online bank providing access to conventional banking services –including certificates of deposits, savings and checking accounts, bill payments, and so more.

What does Discover Card Provide?

The Discover Card is known to be available in standard varieties. These include:

  • Travel
  • Student Chrome
  • The flagship Cash Back Card
  • Business
  • Gas & Restaurant
  • Secured
  • Student Cash Back
  • NHL

Being true to its roots, the card is still not known to charge any annual fees. Moreover, it is also known to not charge the respective customers with any foreign transaction fee. At the same time, Discover is also not going to charge anything extra or fee for late or first missed payments.

Benefits of Using Discover Credit Cards

Whether you happen to be an individual user or a business enterprise, there are specific benefits of using Discover card that you can enjoy. Here are some:

  • Accepted Across the Nation: Whether you are shopping online or filling up at the gas station, buying some gift at the local shop, chances are that Discover credit cards are going to be accepted everywhere. As per the Nilson Report in February 2020, it was revealed that Discover credit cards are known to be accepted at around 99 percent scenarios across the nation –all places wherein they accept credit cards.
  • Multi-location Use: A Discover card is known to be used at leading banks, ATMs, credit unions, and specific stores for cash. In some cases, you might require cash. Upon such a requirement, you can use the Discover card at ATM, bank, or Credit Union for some cash advance –up to the specific limit in the given contract. For setting up your card to ensure cash advances, you can simply reach out to the customer services to obtain the PIN to be used at the ATM.

Discover cards are also known to deliver access to the cash over option at the leading stores. This would allow you to withdraw cash when you might be making some purchase. This will help you to avoid the ATM fees.

  • Attractive Introductory Offers: Discover is known to provide access to various lucrative introductory offers for both individual users and businesses. Here are some:
  • 0 Percent Introductory APR Period: Both Discover it Cash Back and Discover it Balance Transfer cards are known to offer extended introductory APR promotions. These offers help you to finance a larger purchase or even pay the down debt. The Discover it Cash Back card is known to provide access to a longer window for going interest-free on purchases. On the other hand, the Discover it Balance Transfer card delivers access to lengthier promotions upon bank transfers.
  • Lucrative Sign-up Bonus for All-new Cardholders: Both cards by Discover are known to provide access to profitable sign-up bonuses –depending on your overall spending.
  • Acceptance of Discover Secured Cards Also: Some people are concerned about secured cards –like Discover it Secured, whether these are accepted by retailers or not like the unsecured credit cards. The best part is that these are accepted by retailers. To the retailer, all credit cards are known to operate in the same manner.

The main difference for the credit card holder between an unsecured credit card and a secured one is that the secured credit card would require a proper deposit amount to serve as the spending limit of the credit card. A secured credit card is also known to help the owners of the card to build ample credit as they keep on earning rewards at the same time.

  • Partnering with Retailers for Delivering Maximum Rewards: Another smart strategy as recommended by the experts is to make use of the credit cards for paying the overall expenses that you tend to incur every month. Then, you should aim at paying the balance amount in full. By doing so, you can maximize earning rewards using the credit cards.

Discover is known to be accepted by most retailers across the nation, and Discover Interchange rates are similar to other card brands. However, the retailers out there can also help you in reaching the specific reward goals.

Conclusion

Just like other credit cards, the overall attractiveness of the terms by Discover credit cards would ultimately depend on your overall credit score. The APR by Discover for cash advances for all its credit cards is around 24.99 percent –you are required to pay around 5 percent or 10 percent of the total amount –whichever might be higher.

Discover was introduced into the credit card market to serve as a customer-friendly and business-friendly card.


About the Author:

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Hannah Cohen is a Senior Relationship Manager with Host Merchant Services.  A graduate of University of Michigan, Hannah has extensive experience in the merchant services industry.  At Host Merchant Services, she specializes in working with small to medium sized businesses to streamline their payment processing, reduce costs, and to implement payment technology to enhance customer experiences and drive revenue.  She is an expert on the topics of customer service and payment processing trends.