My wife and I are Discover Financial Services credit card owners. She’s been, what they call, an “Authorized User” of my credit card for a couple of years. Discover advertises that authorized users can perform key functions like viewing account balance, rewards, payment info, transactions, and even making payments, all without accessing sensitive details like the Primary FICO score or account email addresses. Great, right?

But here’s where things get complicated.

After setting up her authorized user status, we realized she still couldn’t access transactions or account details on her own. We contacted Discover support thinking it would be a quick fix but were instead told that the only way for her to view transactions was for me to share my username and password with her…. This essentially gives her full control of the account as if she were the primary account holder. I get it, she’s my wife, but not the point.

This recommendation goes against standard security practices, especially surprising coming from a financial institution. Sharing account credentials not only exposes the account to greater risk but also bypasses Discover’s supposed limitations on what authorized users can do. Suddenly, an authorized user gains access to everything the primary account holder can do, which defeats the purpose of the authorized user role altogether.

According to Discover’s FAQ, authorized users should have access to transaction details, billing disputes, statement requests, and payment management, among other things.

I’m wondering why Discover doesn’t offer a secure way for authorized users to have this access. A unique login or secondary credentials seem like an obvious solution. It is 2024 after all.

I hope Discover reconsiders its approach to this feature. Encouraging password sharing is not a solution. As a professional in cybersecurity, I find this advice disappointing and would urge Discover to enhance their user access model for the security and convenience of their customers.

#Discover #CreditCard #Cybersecurity #AuthorizedUser #Security #FinTech