Capital One has completed its $35 billion all-stock acquisition of Discover Financial Services, creating the largest US credit card issuer by loan volume and giving Capital One direct ownership of the Discover payments network, a rare vertically integrated position among US card issuers.
The deal received final regulatory approval after Capital One committed to a series of consumer protection and community reinvestment pledges tied to the combined entity's expanded footprint.
Network strategy
Owning the Discover network reduces Capital One's reliance on Visa and Mastercard for a portion of its transaction volume and opens a path to compete more directly with American Express's closed-loop model.