Some credit cards are making a fortune on one aspect of the float from people who pay their balance in full every month. Discover Card is one such credit card issuer.
Discover Card's website does not allow you to designate what day you want your checking account debited and the payment credited to your Discover Card account. Thus, Discover withdraws your money immediately and enjoys its use (an interest free loan courtesy of you the consumer) from that moment forward. Many credit card companies, such as Providian Visa, allow you to designate what day you would like your payment withdrawn from your checking account and posted to your credit card account. So for example, if your payment due date is March 10th and yet you are doing your bills on February 15th, Providian allows you to designate the date funds will be debited from your checking account (as in this example, March 10th).
Discover Card on the other hand, will remove that money from your checking account immediately (February 15th) instead of letting you designate on the Discover Card website that you would like the payment to transact on the due date (March 15th in my hypo). So Discover Card has access to tens of millions of dollars for as many as 28 days interest free. This free use of your money is what is known as the float and banks in general love it; Discover Card in particular loves it. Most credit cards' websites DO allow you to designate the due date as the date you want the money withdrawn from your checking account and applied to your credit card balance. But not Discover Card, which wants that interest free loan from you the consumer. BTW, if you figure the solution is to just wait until the due date, log on to Discover's website and then pay, just wait until you forget that due date and are late by one day and the late fees and interest piles on immediately and customer service won't credit you.
In the age of technology and with other credit card issuers empowering the customer with choices instead of red tape and rigid self-serving payment policy, Discover Card has no excuse. They could change this stupid and selfish policy easily, but don't hold your breath.
0 comments