Discover® Card Website Finishes First for Best Overall Experience for Prospective Customers

Discover today announced it has been awarded first place in Best Overall Customer Experience for prospects in the 2011 Keynote Competitive Research Industry Study of U.S. credit card marketing websites.

As part of capturing the top overall customer experience ranking, Discover ranked first in the categories of credit card satisfaction, home page satisfaction, ease of applying online, design and organization, acquisition impact, online adoption and customer satisfaction.

"Our customers tell us their online experience is very important, so we focus on keeping digital interaction with us easy and satisfying,” said Mike Boush, vice president of e-business for Discover. "As Discover continues to grow in the direct banking industry, we will continue to pay close attention to the online experience and extend our leadership."

Keynote Competitive Research, the industry analysis group of Keynote Systems, observed and interviewed 1,800 prospective credit card customers as they interacted with the sites of nine leading credit card originators. Two hundred online users were sent to each issuer’s website, where they viewed the homepage, found a credit card of interest, started an application for a credit card, learned about managing a card online with the issuer, and conducted a customer support task.

"Based on our analysts’ observations and interviews with our panel of actual users, our study of U.S. credit card marketing sites revealed that these sites play an important role for potential customers in fostering a sense of trust in the card issuer and ultimately in improving overall brand perception,” said Christopher Musto, general manager of the Keynote Competitive Research group at Keynote. "With a site that excels in promoting positive outcomes for the user, Discover won for Overall Customer Experience.”

Discover finished ahead of American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citicards, HSBC, PNC and US Bank for the Overall Customer Experience honor.

Keynote Competitive Research produces leading industry research and regularly evaluates the current state of online customer experience, technical quality (responsiveness/reliability) and implementation of best practices on leading Web sites across a wide variety of vertical markets. For more information on Keynote Competitive Research and this year’s study, please visit: http://bit.ly/Online_Excellence

About Discover

Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) is a direct banking and payment services company with one of the most recognized brands in U.S. financial services. Since its inception in 1986, the company has become one of the largest card issuers in the United States. The company operates the Discover card, America's cash rewards pioneer, and offers personal and student loans, online savings accounts, certificates of deposit and money market accounts through its Discover Bank subsidiary. Its payment businesses consist of Discover Network, with millions of merchant and cash access locations; PULSE, one of the nation's leading ATM/debit networks; and Diners Club International, a global payments network with acceptance in more than 185 countries and territories. For more information, visit www.discoverfinancial.com.