Capital One, Walmart end consumer card partnership

Initially, Capital One and Walmart partnered in 2019 to launch the Capital One Walmart Rewards Credit Card Program and, despite having their card relationship stopped, cardholders continue to earn and redeem rewards, with previously accrued rewards retaining their value. In addition, until further information is provided, cardholders can continue to leverage their Capital One Walmart Rewards Card where Mastercard is accepted and the Walmart Rewards Card for purchases at the retailer.

Furthermore, Capital One is set to retain ownership and servicing of the credit card accounts. The two companies intend to offer additional details to Walmart credit card holders in the upcoming months. At the moment, Walmart did not name a new banking partner and did not respond to a request to comment on the matter.

Walmart ended its credit card deal with Synchrony Financial in 2019 to welcome Capital One as a partner, with the two organisations aiming to meet the needs, preferences, and demands of consumers and clients in the region, whilst prioritising the process of remaining compliant with regulatory requirements and laws of the local industry. The first issues and challenges concerning the collaboration were revealed in late 2022 and early 2023 when Walmart sued Capital One to terminate the agreement. At that time, Walmart said that Capital One was taking too long to process payment and mail replacement cards, while the bank mentioned that it disagreed with the overall decision, with it being evaluated for its right to appeal. Moreover, Walmart underlined that it could terminate its partnership with Capital One if the latter failed to meet any of the overall 13 critical client service standards that the retailer enforced, at least five times in 12 months.

In March 2024, a US federal judge ruled in favour of Walmart, allowing the retailer to end its credit card collaboration with Capital One early, as the latter failed to offer the required level of client solutions. In addition, the US judge mentioned the terms of the 2019 agreement that made the bank the exclusive issuer of Walmart-branded credit cards in the US. Capital One’s reportedly customer service failures enabled Walmart to end their partnership earlier than formerly mentioned.

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