Clients ‘over the moon’ at US lender’s move as it withdraws from market

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Chase Bank is forgiving all outstanding debt owed by customers of its two Canadian credit cards as it exits the country’s market.

Customers using the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa and the Marriott Rewards Premier Visa were pleasantly surprised to find the balance on their credit cards had been wiped clean.

The US-based bank, part of the firm JPMorgan Chase & Co, announced in March 2018 that it was closing its two Visa cards and leaving the Canadian credit card market after 13 years.

It confirmed on Thursday that it was forgiving all outstanding debt owed by customers of its two Canadian credit cards.

Douglas Turner, a 55-year-old long-haul trucker living in Coe Hill, Ontario, was delighted to learn the bank had wiped clean his C$6,157 (£3,860) debt. “I was sort of over the moon all last night, with a smile on my face,” he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. “I couldn’t believe it.”

Turner initially thought he had missed a payment when he received a letter from the bank. Instead, he found it had not only wiped out his debt but also reimbursed his latest C$300 payment.

Turner used his Amazon.ca Rewards Visa to buy electronics and supplies for his six dogs. When factoring his monthly interest on the card, he estimates he has saved more than C$7,500.

“It’s crazy,” he said. “This stuff doesn’t happen with credit cards. Credit cards are horror stories.”

Chase Bank has not disclosed how many Canadians had signed up for the cards or how much debt it had wiped out.

Paul Adamson, a 43-year-old south-western Ontario resident, immediately phoned the bank when he saw the balance on one of his credit cards had been wiped clean.

“She said: ‘Actually, you owe no balance,’” Adamson told the Canadian press. He was about C$1,645 in debt. “I was a little confused and kind of sceptical at her response,” he said. A letter confirming the debt had been wiped clean came the next day. “I was stunned, I’ll be honest. I just said: ‘Hey, here’s one more thing we don’t need to worry about.’”