I was previously a front line agent for Discover Financial Services. I no longer am. So, now, I’m free to say what I want.

And that is they’re probably one of the worst options for banking. I had customers ask me if I have a bank account with them and though I was honest – I don’t – I never stated the truthful reason. I would simply say “I already had a bank account, so I didn’t need another.”

But the real reason? As someone who was on the “inside”, I would not trust Discover with my funds. Ever.

Did you ever call customer service because your debit card declined, only for the agent to tell you there’s essentially nothing they can do for you except file a complaint? Yes, that’s the result of security policies. It’s called “Code 102 – Suspected Fraud”. Doesn’t matter if it isn’t fraud. “Suspected” is enough. Front line agents have zero ability to bypass this. Don’t ask for a supervisor. You’ll get the same story.

To each their own, but the second any bank told me I couldn’t use the money in my account, that would be the end of my relationship with them.

Sadly, I have many stories to share regarding this. I have had to leave customers stranded at gas stations, on a cruise ship, at the grocery store. Imagine telling someone who just lost their job they can’t buy food because your company thinks their innocuous transaction is fraud and all you can offer is an apology that you know means nothing. That was my job. Every day of the work week.

In fact, this security update came just a day before Halloween 2023. It was intended to be temporary, but it was made permanent. Well, we were told it was temporary. The truth is they probably never planned for it to be temporary, but Discover has a habit of letting the front line bear the brunt of their decisions. After all, they’re not the ones who’ll get yelled at.

Want to increase your ATM withdrawal limit from a measly $500? Too bad! This was also part of the Oct 30 security in 2023. Hard to disagree with the long-time customers who were upset they suddenly had the same restrictions as a totally new customer.

It doesn’t end in Deposits. Let’s talk about their department for Personal Loans. First off, this department is one of the smallest, so if you’ve ever had a long hold time to reach an agent, that’s your answer. This department is so small, it doesn’t have a web support team. It shares with Deposits. Which is ultimately useless because their web support team can’t see anything of a personal loan.

So, what happens when you’re on hold, wondering what the heck is taking so long? Chances are one or more of the teams are in a meeting. Don’t give them the benefit of the doubt. No less than half of these meetings have any real urgency. Some of them are literally for the purpose of playing a game. So, yes, while you’re wondering how much longer you’ll be on hold, one of the personal loan teams is playing a web browser game about dressing up a cat. And yes, they’re well aware this makes the call queue blow up like a hot air balloon. They don’t care because who has to fix the mess? Yep, front line agents.

By the way, did you know providing information is a courtesy? You might be one of those customers who used to get a payment breakdown on your statement. Discover decided to omit that information last year. Why? Because it was a courtesy. No, really. This is the answer given in one of their official employee documents. It was a courtesy to provide it in the first place. I pressed for a deeper answer once, but all I got was “it confused customers”. In short, the bank that handles your loan thinks you’re stupid. Considering they still get calls about this very matter, I don’t see how not providing the information is better, but Discover is not the type of company that does anything beneficial for customers or employees unless they’re forced to do so.

Speaking of that, that’s probably the biggest one. Discover has a history with the Department of Labor. They were fined heavily for not paying overtime when employees had to log in before their shift start time to begin taking calls on the dot. Of course, when it was announced employees would finally get some leeway, it was treated like a celebration. I don’t think you need to be a lawyer to know they didn’t have a choice. Had the Department of Labor not stepped, they’d still avoid paying overtime. But I guess that’s true of most corporate, so I can’t claim they’re special in that regard, can I?

Speaking of legal, perhaps none of the above interests you. Maybe you want to know the big one. The merger with Capital One. All plans are to go ahead with the merger, but there is still no finalization. To the best of my knowledge, the plans are for the merger to be finalized in November of 2024 or February of 2025. Supposedly, no front line agents are at risk of losing their jobs, but questions about layoffs haven’t exactly been answered, so that’s speculation at best. I can only go off what agents were told. My understanding is Capital One wants to use Discover’s network because MasterCard is expensive. While I understand the idea, I don’t feel like combining with Discover’s services will bring anything positive in the long run. Then again, maybe Capital One can fix those terrible security policies. One can hope.

I have much more I could say and expose, but I will end it here. I worked in the departments for Deposits and Personal Loans, respectively, so my knowledge pertains there. Of course, at the end of the day, consumers will choose who serves them best. If that is Discover, consider yourself fortunate. Had I any access to my work call logs, I could very easily provide the long list of those whose experience. My heart goes out to them.

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