Discover launches Balance+ to streamline card transactions

By Gloria Mathias

Discover has announced the launch of Balance+, an innovative feature for its Cashback Debit Checking account. This feature provides customers with fee-free discretionary overdraft coverage applicable to everyday debit card transactions.

With many Americans continuing to live paycheck-to-paycheck, this offering highlights Discover’s continued efforts to help address overdraft fees, a key customer pain point. It allows customers to seamlessly manage their money without the stress of not being able to cover everyday purchases.

With Balance+, Cashback Debit account holders can overdraw their checking account up to $200 on debit card purchases with no fees. To qualify for Balance+, an account must be in good standing with a balance greater than $0, and account holders must receive at least one qualifying direct deposit of $200+ per month for the last two calendar months.

Balance+ complements Discover’s existing overdraft coverage, including fee-free Overdraft Protection, which automatically transfers money from a linked Discover account to cover transactions when an account is overdrawn. While Balance+ covers debit card purchase overdrafts, Discover’s Overdraft Protection covers checks, online bill payments and ACH transfers initiated at another bank. Cashback Debit customers can enrol in both Balance+ and Overdraft Protection to ensure different types of transactions are covered.

“With Balance+, we are giving our customers peace of mind that Discover has their back when they use their debit card for their everyday necessities,” said Ram Subramanian, Vice President and CMO of Discover Bank. “This is a natural extension of our commitment to offering the most rewarding banking experience without having to worry if you make a mistake.”

The new features build on the existing benefits of Cashback Debit, including 1% cash back on up to $3,000 in debit card purchases each month, no fees for monthly maintenance, insufficient funds or overdrafts, fraud protection on debit card purchases, and access to 60,000+ fee-free ATMs across the U.S.

“Cashback Debit offers consumers a wide range of benefits and is one of the only checking accounts to offer cash back rewards,” continued Subramanian. “We’re excited to continue building on this product to provide straightforward and meaningful benefits that put the consumer in control of their finances.”