TIMELINE THE CREATION AND EVOLUTION OF CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS The history of modern credit cards is a perfect example of a great idea that rapidly snowballed from its original conception. Barely 12 years after it started as the local experiment of a New York bank, the credit card had become an international success story. Approximately 50 years after that, it had transcended being a physical item entirely.
1946
1950
1958
John Biggins invents the ‘Charg-It’ card
Introduction of the Diner’s Club Card
AmEx releases its first credit card
A Brooklyn-based banker named John Biggins laid the foundation for modern credit cards.
The next innovation came courtesy of Diner’s Club founder Frank McNamara.
Perhaps the first incarnation of the credit card as it is recognised today, American Express represented another leap forward by introducing consumer credit that was available internationally.
Available only to customers of Flatbush National Bank, the ‘Charg-It’ enabled the buyer to purchase items without paying for them immediately. Merchants would record sales and send deposit slips to the bank, which would then reimburse the merchant and bill the customer.
16
June 2021
The Diner’s Club would bill its members on a monthly basis and then reimburse restaurants that had received their patronage. McNamara’s card employed a similar idea to Biggins’, but with a crucial difference: it was usable on a national scale.
By the late 50s, people were increasingly on-the-move and AmEx pioneered a product that combined the security of traveller’s cheques with credit’s flexible payment terms.
