Should I Accept Discover Card at my Business?

If you are a business owner who accepts credit cards, you probably accept VISA and MasterCard, as those are the two most common major cards in the United States. Discover card, however, is becoming much more popular and more consumers than ever have a Discover card. It could be worth your time and money to begin accepting Discover at your small business along with VISA and MasterCard.

The Discover card has been around since 1985 when it was introduced by Sears, which was, at the time, the largest retailer in the United States. After purchasing Dean Witter Reynolds and Coldwell, Banker & Company, Sears put them all together as the Sears Financial Network and its card was Discover. At the time, it was one of the only cards with no annual fee and a much higher credit limit than VISA and MasterCard had. In addition to that, Discover offered 2% cash back on certain purchases which had customers running towards this card. Additionally merchants began picking it up because the fees associated with it were less than VISA and MasterCard.

As the years passed and Sears went through troubled times, Discover passed hands several times until 2007 when Discover became an independent company. You can look at the relationship between VISA/MasterCard and Discover as the Discover card being the younger sibling of the big boys in the credit industry. Discover grew up always wanting to play with its older brothers and was always left out. Now that it has matured, it is certainly challenging the reign of VISA and MasterCard in the credit industry.

Today, Discover has over 50 million cardholders and their ATM network services over 4500 banks, credit unions and savings companies. About 4 million businesses in the US accept Discover card, so there is certainly room for more small businesses to come in and accept the card. Discover has its own bank, has begun expanding into the United Kingdom and continues to challenge VISA and MasterCard with innovation and offerings.

Since 2006, Discover has made it easier and more tempting for you, as a business, to accept the Discover card. They have allowed the same banks that process VISA and MasterCard to process Discover at the same rates, and sometimes, even lower rates than the current rates they offer VISA and MasterCard. This helps businesses who want to accept Discover by getting VISA, MasterCard and Discover for one fee and be able to accept three cards. It is expected that this agreement will allow credit card merchant rates to go down even further than they are now. In fact, Discover is already showing great signs of growth. By jumping on the Discover card bandwagon now, you may be able to get the best rates available, renew accounts with VISA and MasterCard at a lower price and open up your business to cardholders you may not have reached before. Accepting three cards instead of two will surely bring more business, profit and possibly even new customers into your company's doors.