Who Accepts Discover Credit Cards?
More than 90 percent of merchants in the United States accept Discover credit cards. Discover credit card acceptance varies internationally, but merchants in many countries, particularly those in Europe and Asia, accept Discover credit cards.
The four major types of credit cards are Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover, which is the youngest of the four. Visa and MasterCard are technically credit card processors, whereas American Express and Discover are card issuers. Visa and MasterCard have card processing fees of approximately 2 percent, which is lower than the card processing fees for American Express or Discover. The lower processing fees are one reason why more merchants accept Visa and MasterCard than American Express or Discover.
Discover also often sides with the customer over the merchant in regards to charge backs and refunds. For example, consumers can return purchases made with a Discover credit card up to 90 days after the purchase date for a refund on any item costing up to $500, regardless of the store’s return policy.
Only 77 percent of the stores that accept Visa and MasterCard in the United States also accept Discover. As a result, Discover is focused on gaining more merchant acceptance.
