Credit cards are a godsend that we often take for granted. Since their inception, we no longer have to carry a heavy wallet around full of cash or coins. Now, this small piece of plastic barely the size of a one-dollar bill can hold up to thousands if not, hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Credit cards are so common in fact, that it is quite hard to imagine a life without them. You can buy pretty much anything you want with them. From your weekly groceries to all sorts of online transactions.
However, you might wonder how to credit card we know of today got to be. With that being said, let’s take a look at its history, and see how it was actually created.
The Beginnings
Believe it or not, the whole idea of credit card-like payments dates all the way back to the ancient era. The Mesopotamians used to conduct trade with other civilizations, by using certain clay tablets, that were supposed to replace the circulation of massive amounts of copper coins between them.
Moving all the way up to the 1800s, American merchants used the so-called credit coins, or charge plates to farmers, serving as a promise that the pay will be delivered once the crops are harvested.
The Diners Club Card
However, a close resemblance of the credit card we know of as of today was invented in the year 1950. It all started when a client having his dinner at New York’s Major’s Cabin Grill realized that he forgot his wallet. Out of frustration, he cooked up an idea that won’t let this happen again. A few months later he invented the first form of the credit card. A small cardboard card by the name of Diners Club Card. Just a year later, this card managed to attract up to 20.000 users.
The First Plastic Card
Just a few years later, in 1958 the first true credit card was introduced by The Bank of America. Although it was initially made of paper, it soon took its famous plastic form. The card had a spending limit of 300$ and was largely accepted by merchants.
The Magnetic Stripe
We all know of the black stripe that covers a part of the back of our cards. It was actually invented in the early 1960s, by an IMB engineer called Forrest Parry. At first, the magnetic stripe was used to hold details of CIA identity cards, but it was later adopted as a standard for payment cards in 1969.
The Rise Of Online Payments
Believe it or not, the online payment system was first brought to life by pornography. It all started in the late 90s when a porno movie business was looking to boost their profits. The idea they came up with, was to charge its clients via an online subscription. This idea soon took off, and many other similar businesses followed suit, giving birth to the online payment system we know today.
Now, almost every branch of the adult industry is using the online medium as a means of payment. From regular porn sites to webcam sites. Even the oldest profession in the world is now accepting online payments through things such as escort sites like Escorts2.
The New Millennium
The early 2000s represented an important time for credit cards. New technologies surfaced which boosted the evolution of them. For example, in 2002, Bank of America introduced a new card, smaller in size, perfect for attaching it to a keychain.
Later, in 2003 MasterCard came up with contactless technology. Which, just like today, allowed you to hover the card over the payment terminal.
Shortly after the introduction of smartphones, mobile wallets became a thing in 2008. Credit card payments could now be made via smartphone, and that has changed the game going forward.
