What is a credit card issuer?

A financial institution that issues credit cards. Most of the time a credit card's issuer (e.g. Bank of America or Capital One) will be different from the network it is on (i.e. Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover). The two exceptions are American Express and Discover, which are networks that began issuing their own cards directly.

What banks issue credit cards?

Major bank card issuers include American Express, Bank of America, Barclays, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Discover and U.S. Bank, while PenFed Federal Credit Union and Navy Federal are two of the largest credit unions issuing credit cards. In total, there are 84 active card issuers in the U.S. as of 2023.

Can a bank issue a credit card?

Technically, any bank or credit union can -- and likely does -- issue credit cards. But your average U.S. credit card user is more likely to have a card from a multinational bank than from the regional bank down the street.