Coles is taking full control of the supermarket chain's credit card business less than a year after announcing its financial services joint venture with GE.
Coles announced its partnership with the US conglomerate in mid 2014 with the aim of taking on the big banks by offering loans and other financial services products.
But GE's recent sale of its Australian consumer lending business has allowed Coles' parent Wesfarmers to buy the 50 per cent stake the US giant held in the joint venture.
"It's been a good relationship and we are pleased to now be able to operate this business in our own right," Wesfarmers managing director Richard Goyder said on Monday.
The joint venture business, which only began operating in April, was a combination of Coles' existing credit card business and new loan products.
Coles has more than 800,000 financial services customers using its credit cards as well as car, home and life insurance products.
Wesfarmers has rolled out several financial services products, including credit cards and personal loans, since it acquired Coles in 2007.
