When Was The First Credit Card Issued
By 1951 diners club had 20 000 cardholders.
When was the first credit card issued. The first real credit cards which did not have to be paid off all at once were issued by the bank of america in september 1958. The first credit cards that used electronic swipe machines didn t appear until 1975. Another major card of this type known as a travel and entertainment card was established by the american express company in 1958. The first bank card ever issued called the charge it card was introduced by a man named john biggins in 1946 through flatbush national bank of brooklyn.
Although its purchases were made on credit diners club was technically a charge card meaning the bill had to be paid in full at the end of each month. In 1958 american express company jumped into the payment card scene and launched its first charge card. Instead the first diners club credit cards were made of paper stock with the accepting locations printed on the back. A credit card is a payment card issued to users cardholders to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder s promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the other agreed charges.
In 1958 bank of america launched bankamericard. The first universal credit card which could be used at a variety of establishments was introduced by the diners club inc in 1950. After diners club issued its first charge card in 1950 the payment card began evolving into what we know as the credit card today. The cards were not made of plastic.
The card issuer usually a bank creates a revolving account and grants a line of credit to the cardholder from which the cardholder can borrow money for. The first diners club credit cards were given out in 1950 to 200 people most were friends and acquaintances of mcnamara and accepted by 14 restaurants in new york. So the date when the first credit card was issued depends on how specific your definition of credit card is. In 1951 diners club issued the first credit card to 200 customers who could use it at 27 restaurants in new york.
These cards were similar to credit cards as people would make purchases on the card and pay it off at a later date. The history of credit cards. Used mainly for travel and entertainment the diners club card claims the title of the first credit card in widespread use. Credit cards first became big business in the 1950s.
The first credit card in 1950 diners club and american express launched their charge cards in the usa the first plastic money. You can get a better sense of the different milestones below.