Something About the History of Credit Cards
“Credit cards were initially advertised as time saving tools by the companies and people were not lured regarding the credit aspect associated with them. Gradually, the purchasing habits of people changed and credit cards became a supreme necessity of the modern age. ”
Credit is basically a mechanism that allows you to buy things when you don’t have money in your pocket. Credit Cards are the electronic incarnations of this mechanism.Have you ever wondered as to who invented credit cards and how they came into vogue? Let’s learn about it in some detail.
The first credit card was used as back as 1890 in Europe. At that time, their shape and use was totally different from the type of cards that we use today. They were mostly in the form of token coins made of metal.
Later, various kinds of materials like metal plates, fiber, paper etc. were used to form them. These days, primarily plastic cards are in use.
At that time the credit card war issued only to the company’s direct customers. Third party use of credit card was unheard of. Gradually, companies started to accept each other’s credit cards and finally you are able to use the same credit card for different companies and services.
The first bank that issued a credit card was the Flatbush National Bank of Brooklyn in New York. The businessmen were simply to give their sales chits to the bank and the bank charged the customers who had used the credit card accordingly.
It was a very simple mechanism and no one could have then imagined that computers and software was to take over this cumbersome process later.
The third party use of credit cards started successfully in USA. People could eat at whatever restaurant they liked without having money in their pockets. They just handed over to the restaurant personnel the ‘Dinerts Club’ credit card.
The restaurants accepted those cards and the customers repaid the amount later to the Diners Club. However, there was a major difference in these credit cards. The customer had to pay back the whole amount once he was to pay his bill to the credit company (Diners Club).
Initially, credit cards were advertised as time saving tools by the companies and people were not lured regarding the credit aspect attached to them. Gradually, the purchasing habits of people changed and today we cannot go about our day-today business without a credit card in our pockets.
Author - DeeKay
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