Make a Discover Card Payment

Making credit card payments on time each month is important for maintaining a good credit rating and saving yourself from late fees. Though paying online is typically the easiest option, there are other methods available if you do not have access to the internet or need to pay in cash.

Steps

Making Your Payment on the Discover Website

  1. Visit the Discover website. The website is available at www.discovercard.com.
  2. Create an account. Click "Register" in the upper-left side of the page. You will need to create an online account. Provide your account number and your card’s expiration date. To identify yourself you will need to submit the last four digits of your Social Security number, and your date of birth. Then create a user ID and password. Set preferences for your online account.[1].
  3. Log in to the Discover Account Center. Return to www.discovercard.com. In the upper left corner will be a section to input your user ID and password. It will also ask you to identify the type of account. Input information and click the button that read’s “Log In.”
    • If you are concerned about remembering your login information, click “Remember User ID” to store the information in your computer for the future.
  4. Click on "Make a Payment." You will then be asked how much you want to pay. Enter at least the minimum required payment.
    • If you have insufficient funds in your account you will be charged a “return payment fee.” Discover reserves the right to charge the account up to twice if the first charge is rejected for insufficient funds. It will only, however, charge one fee.
  5. Schedule a payment. You can schedule a payment for a later date. This is a convenient feature if you want to set up the payment while it is on your mind but need to wait to withdraw the money until you have more funds. You can determine whether the transaction will be push (you send the payment) or pull (Discover withdraws the from your bank account).
    • For a payment to be considered on time, it needs to be received by 5:00 p.m Eastern Time on the payment posting date.[2]
    • Website unavailability may affect timely payments. You are responsible for payments that are received late because of technical problems with their website.
    • Paying online is the cheapest way to pay. There are no fees. You also do not need to pay for any incidentals like envelopes, stamps, or checks.
  6. Set up account so that you don’t forget due dates. Visit this page and insert your account information to set up email notifications. You can customize your settings to receive reminders when the bill is due, when your payment is received, or when a large purchase is made. If that is too much work, you can visit this page to set up automatic payments. You can customize how much you want to pay every month.

Making Your Discover Card Payment Online Through Your Bank Account

  1. Set up online banking with your bank. If you haven't already, call your bank with the account that you will use to pay you credit card and set up online banking. Usually, this is as simple as just getting an online username and password; your account information will likely already be online and ready for you.
  2. Verify your discover card balance. You will not be able to access your card balance through your personal banking website, so you'll have to have your balance ready beforehand. Also be sure that you have enough in the account to pay the card before inputting the transaction.
  3. Check transfer times. These will vary between banks, but it may take several days for a transfer to be processed between your bank and your Discover card. Make sure that you allow for a delay by paying your Discover card several days before the payment deadline.
    • The delay might be longer on holidays or weekends, so check with your bank beforehand to ensure that your payment gets processed on time.
    • This method also allows you to set payment for a future date if, for example, you need time to move money around in your account.
  4. Go to bill pay and enter your Discover card number in the "pay to" field. Log in to your online banking profile and scan the page for a link that you can use to pay bills. There will likely be a tab or section of your online banking website called "bill pay" or "bill pay center" or something similar. Go to this page and enter your Discover card number as the payment recipient. You may be required to put in other information.
  5. Submit your payment. Double check you've entered the date and your card number correctly. Then, enter your balance or the amount that you wish to pay and submit the payment. Your bank website will likely display an estimated transfer date. Be sure to check your Discover balance on this date by phone or online to see if the transfer has gone through.
    • Some banks may charge transaction fees for credit card payments. Be sure to check with your bank first before proceeding.

Making Your Discover Card Payment by Mail

  1. Detach the payment form from the account statement. Your account statement will list all of your monthly transactions, your total balance, and your monthly minimum payment. It also includes a detachable payment form. Pull this off and send it along with your payment.
  2. Mail a check or money order. Do not send cash because this can easily be taken by a third party. Write your account number on the memo line of the check to help identify the payment.[3]
    • Send all payments to the address listed on your account statement.
  3. Be prompt. There is a reason why they call it “snail mail.” If you want to ensure that your payment arrives on time, you need to send it 7-10 days before it is due.[3]

Making Your Discover Card Payment by Phone

  1. Call 1-800-DISCOVER. Provide your account information. Indicate that you would like to make a payment.
  2. Pay using an electronic check. The account number on your debit card will not be sufficient to make a phone payment. Technically you will be paying with a check. That does not mean that you need to provide a physical check, but you need a check on hand to provide the bank routing number, account number, and transit information.[3]
    • The account number and transit information can be found on the bottom left corner on the front of your check.
  3. Be aware of processing times. Payment by phone is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but is not always credited instantly. Payments made before 5:00 pm will be credited to that day. Payments after 5:00 pm will be credited to the following day. The exception is the weekend. Any payment made after 5:00 pm on Friday will not be credited to your account until Sunday.[3]

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ https://www.discovercard.com/cardmembersvcs/registration/reg/goto?forwardName=reghome
  2. ↑ https://www.discover.com/credit-cards/help-center/payments/making-payments-important-info.html
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 https://www.discover.com/credit-cards/help-center/payments/making-your-payment.html
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