What Is the History of Discover?
Discover was launched in 1985 and made its public debut in a Super Bowl commercial in early 1986. It is both a card network and a direct issuer of cards to consumers through Discover Bank, formerly Greenwood Trust Company. The Discover network ranks fourth in terms of dollar volume of processing, behind Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. The issuer also ranks sixth in terms of number of general purpose credit cards issued. Discover was originally owned by Sears, Roebuck and Company and was part of the Sears Financial Network that also included Dean Witter Reynolds and Coldwell Banker as its brokerage and real-estate arms. Discover disrupted the card industry by issuing no-annual-fee cards and offering higher-than-normal credit lines. It later introduced its innovative Cashback rewards program, which was novel for its time.