Walmart has ended its agreement with Capital One Financial, which had been the exclusive issuer of the retailer's consumer credit cards.

The ending of the partnership doesn't affect current cardholders, the companies announced Friday. Those who hold Capital One Walmart Rewards Mastercards and Walmart Rewards Cards can keep using the cards and will continue to earn and redeem rewards – and already accrued rewards will keep their value, the companies said.

“The parties determined that the best path forward for our customers is to end the current partnership and convert existing eligible Walmart Card customers to one of Capital One’s flagship branded rewards products," Capital One said in a statement to USA TODAY.

Cardholders do not need to take any action, as Capital One will continue servicing the cards, which began being introduced in 2019.

Capital One will contact them "in advance of any upcoming changes to customer account features or functionality," the company said. "Customers can continue to shop with their current products and make payments in the same manner as they always have.”

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Two months ago, a federal judge ruled Walmart could opt out of the partnership early because Capital One had committed "repeated customer service failures."

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In a lawsuit that began in April 2023, the nation's largest retailer and employer accused Capital One of being slow posting transactions to cardholders' accounts and failing to promptly replace many lost cards in late 2022 and early 2023, Reuters reported.

At the time, Capital One, which is based in McLean, Virginia, disagreed with the decision and said it was evaluating its right to appeal.

Both companies have been in the news recently for other actions. A week ago, Walmart said it was cutting hundreds of corporate jobs and asking remote workers to return to offices.

Capital One in February announced the acquisition of Discover Financial Services in an all-stock transaction valued at $35.3 billion.

Contributing: Reuters.

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