Credit card had a similar concept as early as the middle of18th century.
But it was not until the early 20th century that the form of physical cards appeared.
At the beginning of the 20th century, American writer Morris invented the credit card made of metal.
Although the distribution target is limited and the use place is limited, it does attract large enterprises to launch credit cards because it advertises "enjoy first, pay later". 1924 General Oil Company of the United States issued the "Petroleum Credit Card", which was originally used as a VIP card for employees and specific customers of the company. Because of the good response, it was later popularized to the general public as a means to promote oil products.
In the fierce competition, other oil companies have also launched various credit cards.
Since then, the credit card market has flourished, and other industries, such as telephone, aviation and railway companies, have also introduced credit cards to attract customers.
However, due to the economic panic in the United States, many card issuing companies suffered losses due to bad debts and credit card fraud, which hindered the credit card business. During World War II, the Federal Reserve Board of the United States ordered the prohibition of credit cards during the war.
It can be said that the embryonic form of modern credit cards was formed after the advent of Dinka in 195 1.
The card company of the diner pays the cardholder in advance and charges the merchant a handling fee.
This model has been used to this day.
The scope of stores has gradually extended from catering industry to general retail industry and tourism-related industries.
From 65438 to 0959, American Express began to issue cards, and with rich travel experience, it successfully expanded its business scope to areas outside the United States.
/kloc-The development of credit cards in the 1950s not only established the cardholder's consumption without cash payment, but also established the mode that the issuing bank charged the merchant discount, and also provided a revolving credit payment method, which made the cardholder pay flexibly and the bank increased the interest income.
Later, cardholders gradually got used to using revolving credit, and the development of bank credit cards began to flourish.
1976, Citibank took the lead in charging annual fees for credit cards, breaking the long-standing practice of not charging annual fees for cardholders. It did cause confusion at that time, but it also saved banks from living beyond their means.
Later, when the annual credit card fee became an industry practice, AT & amp； T company is also free of annual fee, as the biggest selling point, it can enter the credit card market in the future.
Therefore, many bank credit cards now have an annual fee and an annual fee-free system.
Development history of VISA card
From 65438 to 0959, Bank of America in Los Angeles extended its credit cards to all of California.
At 1965, American commercial banks began to expand their national business, issuing a BankAmericard with blue, white and gold stripes every other year and authorizing its trademark to be used by other banks.
In order to expand their business, American commercial banks set up the National Bank of America (NBI), and transformed banks that use authorized trademarks into non-holding members of NBI.
However, BankAmericard, with a strong American flavor, was not favored by foreign banks, and finally it was officially renamed Visa at 1977.
Development history of MasterCard
1967 "western state bank card"
WSBA, an association of four California banks, plans to launch MasterCard.
Later, because the association joined the inter-bank card association, it was awarded the right to use Master Charge. By 1970, the Inter-bank Card Association officially obtained the patent right of main charge.
In order to expand the international market, Master Charge was renamed Master Card on 1978.
At the beginning of MasterCard's establishment, Visa was the main competitor. After years of competition, these two credit card organizations have developed into international organizations with more than 6.5438+0.4 million special stores around the world, and the international market share of MasterCard and Visa cards exceeds 80%.
The service it provides has become an indispensable payment tool for consumers today.