Synchrony

The CEOs of the credit card lenders Discover and Synchrony are urging Congress to come through with another round of government stimulus so that struggling households can continue paying their bills.

The CEOs of the credit card lenders Discover and Synchrony are urging Congress to come through with another round of government stimulus so that struggling households can continue paying their bills.

With Americans traveling less due to the pandemic, the card, issued by Synchrony, is tailoring rewards to everyday purchases, such as groceries. It also has a contactless feature that could appeal to shoppers fearful of touching terminals.

Since March, issuers have tightened their criteria for opening new accounts and closed millions of existing ones in hopes of avoiding waves of defaults.

The ratings firm also took negative action with respect to Ally, Synchrony, Discover, Sallie Mae and Navient, citing the impact that the coronavirus crisis is having on their revenues and profits.

Discover is the latest card lender to say it's reining in credit lines as the coronavirus pandemic leaves millions of Americans jobless and struggling to keep up on loans.

The lender behind the credit cards for Gap, J.C. Penney and other retailers took a large provision for loan losses and abandoned full-year earnings guidance as the nationwide shutdowns tied to the coronavirus pandemic have led to a sharp decline in spending on its cards.

With Synchrony smarting over the loss of Walmart and Verizon facing heat from T-Mobile's payment app, a card partnership was a natural fit.

Deluxe Corp. will take over bill payment processing for private-label credit card issuer Synchrony beginning next year, absorbing Synchrony’s remittance operations and employees in Florida and Georgia.

The credit card lender responded to the closing of Toys R Us stores last year by issuing Synchrony-branded cards to the retailer's customers. Now it's testing a general-purpose card with a wider array of clients.