Debt Consolidation Credit Counseling In Phoenix

Edward Ballamy first introduced the world to the idea of the "credit card" in his 1887 novel, Looking Backward.

However it was initially used as one of the modes of payment for selling gas to the burgeoning population of vehicle owners in the United States of America during the 1920's. These cards were then called as charge cards and soon enough several companies permitted the use of various cards. Earlier days it was easy to fake a credit card, as most of them were printed on some kind of card, unlike the plastics which we use today.

During the 1930s and 1940s another form of the credit card occurred. It was known as the Charga-Plate and was made of a fairly small piece of metal, which had the owners name, city of residence, and the state in which that person lived imprinted into it. It also contained a small piece of card for a signature. Only the large retailers made use of these, and they were only issued to their everyday clients. Most often, the Charga-Plates were kept at the store.

Diners club was founded by Ralph Schneider and Frank X. McNamara in 1950, and instead of using many cards people where allowed to use one card. This card had to be paid in full at the end of each month which is differnt from the modern credit card.

Next, Carte Blanche arrived on the scene, closely followed by American Express in 1958. A worldwide credit card system came into being as a result of American Express. In addition, Visa was born in 1958, making its debut as Bank of America's BankAmericard. In 1966, MasterCharge appeared and its name was later changed to MasterCard.

The US bank system made it possible for people traveling to use credit cards in various places across the country, since they could not access their home banks.

The U.K. was the first country to release the credit card in 1966. Other countries were not still agreed to it, as reliability and security of it was also in question and people also were giving their preferences to cash payments.

Credit cards are now being tested that have a microchip implanted to reduce fraud. Another type of credit card being tested is the Affinity Card. This is a co-sponsored card by the issuer and an organization that carry certain features such as discounts or cash back.

Usually,when your earning increases you are more able to return debt of your credit card which ultimately lead you to increase use of the credit card.