Discover Financial Services history, company profile (overview) and corporate video
Discover Financial Services is a banking and financial services company, headquartered in Riverwoods, Illinois, United States. It offers credit cards, checking and savings accounts, retirement deposits, personal loans, student loans, home loans, online banking, and payments.
Discover Financial Services owns Discover, Discover Bank, the payments brand Discover Global Network, Pulse networks, and Diners Club International. Discover Card is one of the largest credit card brands in the United States.
HISTORY
Discover Financial Services’ origins date back to 1986 when Dean Witter Financial Services Group, Inc., a subsidiary of Sears, Roebuck and Co., launched the Discover Card.
In 1993, Dean Witter Financial Services Group, Inc., spun off from Sears into an independent publicly traded company known as Dean Witter, Discover & Co.
In 1995, Discover Card Services, Inc. changed its name to NOVUS Services, Inc., distinguishing its network functions from the Discover Card.
In 1995, DiscoverCard.com was also launched.
In 1997, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. merged with Morgan Stanley Group, Inc. to form Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Discover & Co.
In 1999, NOVUS Services, Inc. was renamed Discover Financial Services, Inc.
In 2000, Greenwood Trust Company became Discover Bank. Greenwood Trust Company was incorporated in 1911 and was acquired by Discover in 1985.
In 2005, Discover acquired the PULSE payments network.
In 2007, Morgan Stanley spun off Discover Financial Services into an independent publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange.
In 2008, the Diners Club International network (established in 1950) was acquired.
In 2010, Student Loan Corporation was acquired.
In 2012, Home Loan Center, Inc. was acquired and Discover Home Loans was officially launched. The Home Loans business was later sold in 2015.
In 2012, Discover partnered with Paypal to enable participating merchants to accept PayPal.
With more than 17.000 employees, Discover Financial Services is considered one of the Largest Public Companies in the World, according to Forbes.
*Information from Forbes.com, Wikipedia.org, and www.discover.com.
**Video published on YouTube by “Discover“