Discover Network, a business unit of Discover Financial Services, is a comprehensive and secure payments network. Discover Network markets and supports a full range of credit, debit and prepaid cards. Discover Network also provides customer-centric tools and programs designed to help issuers, acquirers and merchants drive loyalty, increase transaction volume and run business more effectively, with streamlined efficiencies.

While we are a payments network, we are challenging the status quo of the payments network industry. Our approach is straightforward and collaborative. We achieve success by helping our issuers, acquirers, merchants and cardholders succeed. We provide a fresh new brand choice, get products to market faster, provide innovative ways to market businesses and find new ways help our clients generate more revenue.

As part of the team that has supported the Discover Card brand, we have firsthand experience with issuers marketing to and serving cardholders; as an acquirer signing and serving merchants; and as a merchant, finding new ways to engage customers, increase spend and drive traffic. Acting on the successful October 2004 decision of the Supreme Court in a U.S. Department of Justice case that led to a more competitive marketplace, our company has transformed from a single-product issuer and merchant-acquiring business into a leading payments network with multiple products and with issuers and acquirers as business partners. Along with this evolution, the addition of PULSE has brought Discover Network Cardholders access to one of the nation's largest ATM/debit networks.

As soon as Discover Network was able to open its doors to issuers and acquirers, new partners were ready to come on board and explore the possibilities of this new kind of payments network. The recognizable Discover Network brand and our strong acquisition rates have attracted major issuers. Among the first were GE Money (for Wal-Mart and SAM'S CLUB branded credit cards), HSBC and Alliance Data.

Seeing the opportunity to deepen and expand merchant relationships and seeking our collaborative approach, many acquirer relationships also quickly began taking shape. Since 2006, Discover Network has signed agreements with several major acquirers and acquirer processors, including First Data Corp., Global Payments Inc., NOVA Information Systems, TSYS Acquiring Solutions, RBS Lynk, Chase Paymentech and Bank of America Merchant Services.

The result has been an increase in the marketplace of cards accepted on the Discover Network and an increase by merchants of Discover Network acceptance. Our cards have become a leading payments choice for purchases made around the world. Already accepted by millions of merchants, financial institutions and ATM locations throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, Discover Network has also gained broad acceptance throughout Asia thanks to mutual acceptance agreements in China and Japan.

Discover Network offers customer-centric products and programs to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Complementing our comprehensive offering of credit, debit and prepaid cards are innovative product features that include Discover Network Zip, Recurring Payments and Cash Over, all of which help build loyalty, increase traffic and generate revenue. And backing these is an offering of program development, solutions support and marketing tools that help our partners utilize the strength and capabilities of our Network to its fullest.

Discover Network is also dedicated to providing advanced fraud prevention and data security solutions and practices. A founding member of the PCI Security Standards Council, Discover Network employs fraud prevention specialists who review merchant and processor data each day to identify suspicious transactions and activities to quickly identify and resolve fraud issues.

Discover Network is a different kind of payments network. It's a network designed to benefit from the success of its clients. It's a source of collaboration, clarity and shared expertise. It's a brand that's recognizable, distinctive and fresh. Its reach and acceptance is broad, growing and virtually limitless in potential. It's a wealth of opportunity and the tools needed to bring all this opportunity to fruition.

If you're ready to put Discover Network to work for you, simply click Get Started to find out how.