Discover has announced that its U.S. Spending Monitor fell for the first time in four months from 86.2 to 85.6 (based out of 100) finding that "consumer attitudes toward the economy reversed course from the previous three months with more consumers expressing concern over the current state of the U.S. economy. Overall, 59 percent rated current economic conditions as poor, a 4-point increase from the previous month and the first increase since February." READ MORE

Economic confidence among small business owners rose slightly in June as cash flow concerns abated and the mood on the economy held steady, according to the latest Discover Small Business Watch. The monthly index rose to 80.9, up from 78.1 in May.

“Cash flow problems are back to levels that are more in line with what we’ve typically seen since the Watch began nearly three years ago,” said Ryan Scully, director of Discover's business credit card. “Cash flow concerns usually erode confidence because they represent something tangible to a business owner, more so than an expectation or perception about the economy.” READ MORE

Discover Financial Services has reported results for its second quarter ending May 31, 2009. According to Discover, US sales volume decreased 4% versus the second quarter of 2008, reflecting lower gas prices and a general decline in consumer spending. Managed loans ended the quarter at $51 billion, essentially unchanged from the prior quarter and up 7% from the prior year. The managed net charge-off rate increased to 7.79% for the second quarter of 2009, up 131 basis points and 280 basis points from the prior quarter and the prior year, respectively. The managed net charge-off rate for the third quarter of 2009 is expected to be between 8.5% and 9%.

“While the rise in unemployment continued to have a significant impact on our financial results, I am pleased with our strong relative performance in both credit management and sales volumes,” said David Nelms, chairman and chief executive officer of Discover Financial Services. “We continue to focus on reducing expenses and maintaining a strong capital position as we manage through these challenging times.”

Discover Financial Services has announced the launch of Mobile Reminders -"designed to help cardmembers stay on top of their accounts and help manage debt better. This new service allows cardmembers to have more control over their finances and easier access to their Discover® Card accounts. Discover.com registered users can log in and select to receive any of eight Account Activity reminders via text (SMS) message or email. The Mobile Reminders provide cardmembers with important account information that is sent directly to their mobile device." READ MORE

After reaching its highest level in 14 months, the economic confidence among small business owners fell in May as owners reported cash flow concerns and expect to cut back on business development spending, according to the latest Discover Small Business Watch. The monthly index dropped more than 10 points to 78.1, down from 88.5 in April. READ MORE

Economic confidence among small business owners rose to its highest level in 14 months in April as more of them see the broader economy and the conditions for their own businesses improving, according to the latest Discover Small Business Watch. The monthly index increased more than 10 points, rising to 88.5, up from 78.2 in March and the highest since the Watch hit 90.8 in February 2008. April’s mark represents the third consecutive monthly increase in economic confidence among small business owners. READ MORE

Diners Club International, a business unit of Discover Financial Services, in conjunction with Discover, and SIX Multipay, a leading Swiss-based payment services provider, have announced that they have signed a long-term merchant acquiring agreement. This is the first multi-country, acquirer agreement to further European acceptance of Diners Club and Discover Network cards. READ MORE

Discover Financial Services has reported its financial results for the fiscal quarter ending Feb. 28, 2009. Managed loans of $51 billion were essentially unchanged from the prior quarter and up 7% from the prior year; Discover Card sales volume declined 8% from the prior year to $21 billion. Total company expenses were down 7% from the prior year.

In today's Deal of the Day column on SmartMoney.com, Lisa Scherzer writes about "The Pitfalls of Prepaid Cards" - noting that "Prepaid cards may not come with the sky high late-payment fees or APRs of traditional credit cards, but they do carry a slew of other charges." She goes on to recommend four network-branded prepaid cards "whose fees are a little more palatable than others" - including two from MetaBank, the Wal-Mart Money Card issued by GE Money, and the new Current Debit Card by Discover.

Discover Financial Services has announced the launch of Current by Discover Card - calling it "an innovative debit card for teens that helps them track and manage their spending and keep their money safe. The card also helps parents foster financial responsibility in teens, which is especially critical in today’s economy." READ MORE

Discover Financial Services has announced the addition of Cynthia A. Glassman and Richard H. Lenny to the company’s Board of Directors. READ MORE

Economic confidence among the nation’s 22 million small business owners remained flat in February, gaining only a half-point over the previous month in the latest Discover Small Business Watch. The monthly index rose to 71.9 in February from 71.4 in January. READ MORE

A group of credit card issuers and payments networks (Bank of America, Capital One, Citi and Discover Card along with MasterCard and Visa) have introduced Help With My Credit, a resource to assist and educate consumers struggling to make their credit card payments.

According to a press release issued late Tuesday, "Help With My Credit invites consumers to call a toll-free telephone number (1-866-941-1030) where operators will provide them with information about speaking with customer service representatives within participating credit card issuers or to accredited credit counseling agencies, depending on the individual’s situation and needs."

Consumers can also visit a new Web site, http://www.HelpWithMyCredit.org, which provides consumers information on how to manage credit cards and better communicate with their credit card companies, and how to identify and speak with an accredited credit counselor. READ MORE

In an article titled "Discover Hoping a Light Touch on Cuts Pays Off", Maria Aspan writes for the American Banker about Discover - and how it has been pursuing a different strategy than other US credit card issuers with respect to cutting credit lines, raising interest rates, etc. Aspan quotes Discover EVP Harit Talwar as saying that the card issuer's "top priority is emphasizing a "consumer-friendly" strategy in the midst of issuer cutbacks. Discover is hoping the contrast helps win more business from its current cardholders."

After a brief rebound in December, economic confidence among small business owners dipped in January as fewer owners plan to increase spending for business development. The Discover Small Business Watch index fell to 71.4 in January, down 1.4 points from December. READ MORE

In an 8-K filing with the SEC, Discover Financial Services reported that it has received preliminary approval from the U.S. Department of the Treasury to participate in the U.S. Treasury's Capital Purchase Program. "In connection with participating in the Program, the Company intends to become a bank holding company under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 and a financial holding company under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. As previously announced, the Company's application to become a bank holding company was approved by the U.S. Federal Reserve on December 19, 2008."

Discover Financial Services has announced it is rolling out an enhancement to its Discover Information Security and Compliance (DISC) program that the company says "will streamline the validation and reporting process, making it easier for merchants that process transactions on the Discover Network to communicate their compliance with the PCI Data Security Standard (DSS)." READ MORE

Discover Card has announced the launch of a mobile solution for its cardmembers at Discover.com Mobile. This mobile version of the Discover Card Web site will allow cardmembers to manage their credit card account directly from their mobile phone’s browser. READ MORE

The Discover U.S. Spending Monitor fell for the fourth consecutive month in December, declining more than three points to a new low of 76.6 (based out of 100). Both components of the monthly spending index – consumer confidence in the U.S. economy and consumer spending intent – reached new lows during the month, as concerns about the economy may be weighing on post-holiday spending plans. READ MORE

After falling to its lowest measurement ever in November, economic confidence among small business owners rose slightly in December. The Discover Small Business Watch rose to 72.8 in December, up 5.3 points from November. The index was buoyed by increased optimism that their own business prospects are improving and an indication that more will increase spending on business development in the next six months. READ MORE

The New York Times' Dealbook takes a look at the dispute and litigation currently underway between Morgan Stanley and its former subsidiary Discover Financial Services. At issue is how the recent settlements with Visa and MasterCard are to be split between the two firms.

Discover Financial Services has reported financial results for its fourth quarter 2008 ending November 30. Discover card sales volume declined 2% to $22 billion during the quarter as compared to 4Q2007. The net chargeoff rate increased to 5.48%, up from 3.85% in the same quarter last year. The company said it expects chargeoffs to increase to over 6% in the first quarter 2009.

[Update: Seeking Alpha has made available a transcript of today's Discover conference call.]

We recently began making available the Payments News newsfeed on Twitter - more information here. Yesterday, Discover Card began following our feed - and we became aware of theirs as well. To follow, go to: http://twitter.com/discovercard and, if you're a Twitter member, you can click Follow to follow their feed. From the DiscoverCard tagline: "We are here to listen, help people spend smarter, manage debt better and save more so they can achieve a brighter financial future."

Does your financial services company also have a Twitter feed? If so, send us Feedback (link in menu bar above) and we'll announce it here as well. Better yet, just signup to follow PaymentsNews on Twitter! Are you a merchant? See what Amazon.com is doing with its AmazonDeals Twitter feed. So you can easily find them, we'll tag all posts here related to Twitter with the Twitter tag. READ MORE

Discover has announced that its "Discover U.S. Spending Monitor slipped to 79.7 in November, falling below 80 for the first time in its history, as consumer economic sentiment fell to a record low and concern over personal finances reached record highs. Heading into the holiday season, consumers temporarily reversed course on spending from previous months, with an increasing number planning on spending more in December. But the results of nightly surveys of random consumers during November painted a dark picture for retail activity at the onset of the important holiday shopping season. Continued concerns over the economy and personal finances have many more consumers preparing to spend less on holiday shopping than they did last year." READ MORE

Discover Card has released its annual Holiday Shopping Survey assessing consumer spending trends and gift intentions for the 2008 holiday season. According to the survey, "on average, shoppers expect to spend nearly 10 percent less this year than in 2007. More than half (55 percent) of respondents say they plan to cut back. Of these, 89 percent said the economy had an influence on their decision to do so."

Yesterday, Discover Financial Services CEO David Nelms spoke at the Merrill Lynch Banking and Financial Services Conference. A webcast archive and a copy of his presentation slides are available online.

Discover has announced that its "Discover U.S. Spending Monitor fell a record six points in October to 80.4 (based off of 100), as consumers’ economic confidence reached record lows and views of their personal finances deteriorated." READ MORE

FiCentive has announced that it has signed an agreement with Discover Financial Services that allows for the creation and management of specific Discover Network prepaid and gift card programs. According to FiCentive, it "will work with Discover Network, a business unit of Discover Financial Services, to develop general spend reloadable prepaid products that will run on the Discover Network in addition to providing all program management services." READ MORE

Discover Financial Services has announced that "it has reached an agreement with Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. in the settlement of a lawsuit seeking damages for practices that suppressed third-party issuing on the Discover Network and the acceptance of its cards. "

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Discover expects to receive up to $2.75 billion in the settlement of its lawsuit against Visa and MasterCard. Discover will receive approximately $862 million of the settlement in the current fiscal quarter and up to approximately $472 million per quarter in 2009.

Visa said it is responsible for $1.8875 billion of the settlement amount. In a press release, Visa said that amount "includes $1.7425 billion from the escrow created under Visa's retrospective responsibility plan, $80 million from Visa Inc. to obtain releases from MasterCard, and an additional $65 million which will be refunded by Morgan Stanley under a separate agreement related to the settlement."

MasterCard announced it will pay $862.5 million reflecting the terms of a judgment-sharing agreement with Visa that was finalized in July, 2008. In addition, MasterCard reported that, in connection with the settlement, Morgan Stanley, Discover's former parent company, agreed to pay MasterCard $35 million. READ MORE

David Glovin reports for Bloomberg.com that Discover Financial Services has settled its antitrust damages lawsuit against MasterCard and Visa. Visa and MasterCard have separately issued press releases - noting that the details on the settlement are still being finalized.