Since Capital One's $35 billion acquisition of Discover Financial closed in May 2025, management has been working to integrate the companies. The most recent step was Capital One starting to issue its Venture, Savor, and Quicksilver cards on the Discover Network. Previously these cards were issued on Visa and Mastercard networks.
A Capital One representative told The Street that starting to issue credit cards on the Discover network is "an important step forward in our journey to continue offering compelling products to customers, while accelerating scale and investment in the Discover Network and enhancing competition in the global payments industry." While new cards will be issued on the Discover network, existing Venture, Savor, and Quicksilver cardholders will not be impacted at this time. However, it is conceivable that they could be issued cards on the Discover network when their current cards expire. Capital One has already moved all of its legacy debit cards onto the Discover network.
At present, no changes have been announced regarding Capital One's premium and business-branded cards (e.g., Venture X, Venture X Business and Spark) or its private label cards, which include Williams-Sonoma, Kohls, Bass Pro Shops, and BJ's Wholesale Club, among others.
Another impact of the merger has been the layoff of over 1,700 Discover employees, including about 1,100 at the former Discover headquarters. Additionally, the Discover Home Loan business which originated and serviced mortgage and home equity loans was shuttered; the loan portfolio was sold, and the employees were laid off.
Verisave's Take:
The post-merger layoffs are not a surprise as it is typical to eliminate redundant positions and to close businesses that are not a fit after a merger. Neither is it a surprise that Capital One is starting to issue cards on the Discover network, but the way they are choosing to go about it is noteworthy. The reality is that the Discover network is a distant third behind Visa and Mastercard in terms of brand strength and the number of merchants who accept the card worldwide. Capital One is probably holding back on moving its premium and private label cards to the Discover network until it has had an opportunity to enhance the brand and further grow acceptance of cards issued on the Discover network. It is logical for Capital One to eventually move all of its cards to the Discover network because it will strengthen the network's influence and likely provide economies of scale. It will also be more profitable as Capital One will collect both interchange fees and card network fees. It remains to be seen whether Capital One will ultimately follow in Visa's and Mastercard's footsteps and maintain the status quo or whether it will wield its new market power in disruptive ways. Either way, it's pretty clear Capital One is intent upon enhancing its market influence and competitiveness.
