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A new credit card king is crowned

The Federal Reserve has officially approved Capital One’s $35 billion acquisition of Discover, clearing a major regulatory hurdle for what would be the largest U.S. bank merger in recent years. While both companies are technically banks, their businesses are anchored in consumer lending — especially credit cards — making this a tie-up of two credit-first institutions rather than full-service banking giants.  The combined entity would rank among the largest U.S. credit card issuers, potentially challenging JPMorgan and Citi at the top of the industry. Just as important, it unites two brands with strikingly similar customer bases: everyday Americans drawn to cash-back perks and modest travel rewards, rather than the ultra-premium cards favored by high-end spenders. For Capital One, acquiring Discover also means acquiring something much rarer — a payment network. Discover operates the only major U.S.-based credit card network outside of the dominant trio of Visa, Mastercard, and American Express, and its integration could allow Capital One to reduce swipe fees, increase margin control, and deepen its reach in digital payments.

Capital One would be the only major U.S. bank to fully own and operate both a card-issuing business and a national payment network — a combination that sets it apart from peers like JPMorgan, Citi, and even American Express. It could reduce reliance on Visa and Mastercard, launch proprietary fintech products, and reshape how consumers and merchants interact at checkout — both online and in person. The ripple effects could pressure peers to rethink their infrastructure and accelerate consolidation across banking and fintech. In that context, this is more than a merger: it’s a calculated attempt to build a next-generation financial super-platform and take a serious swing at the Visa-Mastercard duopoly.