Decoupled debit card

A decoupled debit card is a debit card that is not issued by, and not tied to, a particular retail financial institution, such as a bank or credit union. In May 2007, Capital One began a one year decoupled debit card experiment ^[1]. This card was novel in that prior to this launch, a debit card was always tied to a traditional financial institution. Capital One's Mastercard-branded decoupled card did not require an account be opened with a retail financial institution, and was made in partnership with the Ukrops grocery chain, based in CapOne's hometown of Richmond, VA. The card was also tied to a reward program offered by Ukrops. That one-year experiment ended in May 2008^[2], and has been followed up with a national rollout of its own version of a decoupled debit card tied to its own reward program^[3].

References

1. ^ CapitalOne becomes a Bank with checking accounts
2. ^ CapOne says its decoupled debit card pilots ended on schedule
3. ^ Decoupled debit card lives again!

External links

• Capital One's debit card (this card is no longer being offered)