The origin of the credit card

Credit cards are part of our everyday life, and we can hardly imagine the world without them. Long before it was actually invented, author Edward Bellamy referred to a “credit card” in his 1887 science-fiction novel Looking Backward or Life in the Year 2000. The first physical credit card was born in the US in 1914, when Western Union and General Petroleum Corporation began issuing paper cards to selected automobile owners every three to six months.
The universal credit card was first dreamed up in 1949, in the wake of an unpleasant situation. Frank McNamara, a businessman, had forgotten his briefcase and found himself unable to pay his tab at a restaurant. He went right out and founded Diners Club with his partner, and began to issue credit cards made of cardboard. Just one year later, some 42,000 credit cards were in circulation, accepted by 330 businesses.

Milestones in the history of the credit card