Credit is a method of selling goods or services without the buyer having cash in hand. So a credit card is simply an automatic way of offering credit to a consumer. Today, credit cards allow you to make purchases with countless third parties. What is credit? And what is credit card?
First Bank Credit Card
The inventor of the first bank issued credit card was John Biggins of the Flatbush National Bank of Brooklyn in New York
- In 1946, Biggins invented the “Charge-It” program
- Merchants could deposit sales slips into the bank and the bank billed the customer who used the card
Diners Club Credit Card
First issued in 1950
- Was invented by Frank McNamara
- At first it was called a charge card and the customer had to repay the entire amount when billed
- American Express issued their first credit card in 1958
- Bank of America issued the BankAmericard (now Visa) credit card later in 1958
The Popularity of Credit Cards
Credit cards were first promoted to traveling salesmen for use on the road in the early 1960s
- By the mid-70s, Congress began regulating the credit card industry by banning practices such as the mass mailing of active credit cards to those who had not requested them
- In 1996, the U.S. Supreme Court lifted restrictions on the number of late penalty fees a credit card company could charge
