Discover Financial Services Announces First Quarter 2011 Earnings Release and Conference Call

March 08, 2011 04:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time 

RIVERWOODS, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) plans to report its first quarter 2011 results after the market closes on Tuesday, March 22, 2011. The earnings release will be available on Discover's corporate website at www.investorrelations.discoverfinancial.com.

A conference call to discuss the firm's results, outlook and related matters will be held at 5 p.m. Eastern time. The general public is invited to listen to the call by dialing 800-446-2782 (U.S. domestic) or 847-413-3235 (international), passcode 29259887, or via a live audio webcast through the Investor Relations section of the website. For those unable to listen to the live broadcast, a replay will be available on our website or by dialing 888-843-7419 (U.S. domestic) or 630-652-3042 (international), passcode 29259887#, beginning approximately two hours after the event. The replay of the conference call will be available through April 23, 2011.

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.

Contacts

Discover Financial Services
Investor Contact:
Craig Streem
Investor Relations
224-405-3575
craigstreem@discover.com
or
Media Contact:
Jon Drummond
Public Relations
224-405-1888
jondrummond@discover.com

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DRF Survey Reveals Merchant Concerns Regarding Durbin Effects

BROOKFIELD, Wis., March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Q1 survey by the Direct Response Forum revealed that leading CNP merchants share a variety of concerns regarding how the Durbin interchange law could affect their operations.  A full 47% expressed concern with the need to update recurring payment processes due to the expected decrease in debit card approvals and an increased use of pre-paid cards.

With corporate IT funding scarce, it is difficult to say if merchants can implement system changes to keep pace with the anticipated changes in bank strategies if the Durbin law is implemented as drafted. Only 8% indicate that fees saved from debit card interchange would be diverted to pay for the needed payment systems development.  An additional 11% said they will not accept pre-paid cards for recurring/installment programs which will force them to find another solution for these payments.

The survey also reported that 58% of the respondents currently do not accept mobile payments and have no plans for mobile payments in 2011.

"While mobile payments continue to garner a lot of press only 30% of the merchants we surveyed indicated they would be implementing a mobile strategy in 2011.  This compares to over 60% that have a social networking strategy that will impact payments," says Chantal Gaspie, DRF Executive Chair.

Every year the Direct Response Forum attracts the top card not present payment professionals from around the world to the annual DRF.  The merchant members of the DRF represent billions of dollars of credit and debit transactions every year. This Q1 survey garnered 98 responses.  For more information on the survey results sign up for the DRF Quarterly at www.directresponseforum.orgor contact us at information@directresponseforum.org.

About Direct Response Forum, Inc.

The Direct Response Forum (www.directresponseforum.org) brings together leading direct merchants, acquirers, card companies and service providers for two days of interactive panels, breakout sessions, and roundtable discussions focused on key topics affecting the customer/card not present (CNP) merchant community.  The Direct Response Forum is a not-for-profit educational organization that is managed by a Board of Directors that are executives at leading companies including  Affinion Group, Ancestry.com, Digital River Inc., Expedia Inc., L.L. Bean Inc., ShopNBC, Transamerica Life and Protection, and Western Union.

SOURCE Direct Response Forum, Inc.