Chase Bank has confirmed it will forgive all outstanding credit card debt for its Canadian customers. As if we needed another reason to be jealous of the Great White North.
The U.S.-based bank made the decision more than a year after it retired the Amazon and Marriott Visa cards in Canada. It was initially reported that all Canadian card-holders would continue to pay off their balances; however, Chase confirmed to USA Today that it was wiping all debt.
"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," Maria Martinez, vice president of communications for Chase Card Services, said in a statement. "A further business decision has been made to forgive all outstanding balances in order to complete the exit."
The bank has not revealed how much debt was forgiven, or the number of customers who were affected. "Ultimately, we felt it was a better decision for all parties, particularly our customers," Martinez explained. Chase, if they decided to, could have sold off the debt to a third party. "They're still probably paying taxes, paying accountants," Patrick Sojka, a credit card rewards expert, told CBC. [...] for them, they just probably worked it out and [said], 'Let's just forgive the debt and fully get out of the country.'"
Needless to say, customers were very happy.
"I was sort of over the moon all last night, with a smile on my face," Ontario resident Douglas Turner said, per CBC. "I couldn't believe it." Turner said he owed $6,157.
"I'm honestly still so … flabbergasted about it," another Ontario resident, Paul Adamson, said. "It's surprise fees, extra complications — things like that, definitely, but not loan forgiveness."
