Chase Bank has forgiven all outstanding credit card debt for Canadian customers, who had either of its two VISA credit cards.
The decision was made in an effort to make the bank’s exit from the Canadian market smoother for customers as it wound down their credit cards, which it retired last year after 13 years of operation.
Maria Martinez, vice president of communications for Chase Card Services, told NBC News, “Chase made the decision to exit the Canadian credit card market. As part of that exit, all credit card accounts were closed on or before March 2018. A further business decision has been made to forgive all outstanding balances in order to complete the exit.”
Canadian customers who held the Amazon Rewards Visa and the Marriott Premier Rewards Visa saw their balances go to zero, after the bank initially told customers to continue payments.
While the company could have sold the debt to a third party company, Martinez said, “Ultimately, we felt it was a better decision for all parties, particularly our customer, to forgive the debt.”
Someone tell Bank of America, Sallie Mae or the IRS to take notes.
