Credit One Bank should not be confused with Capital One.
| Credit One Bank, N.A. | |
| Type: | Private |
| Industry: | Financial services |
| Foundation: | , in San Rafael, California |
| Location: | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Key People: | Robert DeJong (CEO) |
| Products: | Credit cards CDs Savings accounts |
| Revenue: | US$$1.522 billion (2023) |
| Net Income: | US$453 million (2023) |
| Assets: | US$1.616 billion (2024) |
| Owner: | Ben Navarro |
Credit One Bank, N.A., headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, is a bank specializing in credit cards for borrowers with low credit scores; credit limits for its cards are usually approximately $500. Despite the similar names and "nearly identical" logos, Credit One is not affiliated with the much larger Capital One.[1] It is an affiliate of Sherman Financial Group, one of the largest buyers of consumer debt in the United States, and is owned by billionaire Ben Navarro. It owns the naming rights to Credit One Stadium, a tennis stadium in Charleston, South Carolina.
The bank was founded on July 30, 1984 as First National Bank of Marin in San Rafael, California. It received a designation of "credit card bank" in June 1996. In November 1998, the bank moved from San Rafael to Las Vegas, Nevada. At that time, the bank was owned by Kjell Qvale.[2] In 2005, the bank was acquired by Sherman Financial Group. On February 1, 2006, FNBM changed its name to Credit One Bank, N.A.
The bank moved its headquarters to a new facility in 2018 which was expanded in 2021 to include a second building of 150,000 square feet.
In 2001, to settle an investigation by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the bank repaid $4 million to customers who cancelled their cards after realizing that the credit limit that they received, after paying annual fees and security deposits, was too low to make any purchases. In 2004, the bank paid $10 million for allegedly encouraging people to charge security deposits to new cards, leaving them almost no available credit. In both cases, the bank did not admit wrongdoing.
The bank frequently fails to post customer payments to their accounts within the required and or expected time frame unless the customer pays an "express payment" fee; a lawsuit filed in 2020 alleged that this practice is in violation of the Truth in Lending Act.[3] In 2021, the case was referred to arbitration.[4]
In June 2022, a bankruptcy judge found Credit One Bank liable to roughly 288,000 credit card customers for attempting to collect debts after such debts were discharged via bankruptcies. In January 2024, the bank filed to decertify the class action status of the case.[5]
In 2020, 5 years after a lawsuit was filed, a plaintiff was awarded $232,000, or $500 per call, after she received 465 robocalls from the bank for debt collection of $657 in debt, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
In January 2019, Riverside County, California district attorney Mike Hestrin attorney began an investigation of a third-party vendor of Credit One for making harassing debt collection calls in violation of California law. The bank sued the district attorney, claiming that this matter was in the jurisdiction of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.[6]
In 2023, the bank was sued for reporting disputed information to credit reporting agencies. Summary judgement was granted in favor of the bank, which was appealed.
The Motley Fool gave a one-star (out of five) review to Credit One Bank's credit card. The review praised the bank for making the card available to customers with poor credit and for offering cash-back incentives, while criticizing the card's complicated application process and high fees.
The Better Business Bureau's profile for Credit One Bank includes an alert reading, "BBB files indicate that this business has a pattern of complaints concerning billing/collection issues. Complainants allege that this Credit One Bank charges consumers, sometimes repeatedly, without authorization, which may include late or unexplained fees. Complainants also allege that Credit One Bank forwards incorrect information to credit reporting agencies such as Equifax, Experian and TransUnion."
| Time period | Organization / Team | Notes | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-present | NASCAR | |||
| 2016-present | Chip Ganassi Racing | 2017: Jamie McMurray 2018-present: Kyle Larson | ||
| 2017-present | Vegas Golden Knights | |||
| 2019-present | Las Vegas Aviators | |||
| 2019-present | Las Vegas Raiders | |||
| 2021-present | Charleston Open
| |||
| 2021-present | WWE Championship |
The Credit One Bank logo and the Capital One logo both have an arcing "swoosh" above their names, leading to confusion among consumers. Credit One adopted its logo in 2006; Capital One in 2008. Marketing by Capital One has led to an increase in customers for both itself and Credit One, some of whom were unaware that the two were different companies.