The History of Modern Day Credit Cards Although credit cards were fist introduced in the early 1900 's, they have continued to evolve and shape the way we as a society buy and pay for items. The introduction of the credit card has completely changed the way we make purchases, large and small. Making a large purchase used to mean that the consumer had to save money and pay for the entire transaction at once, but we can now purchase these items with a credit card. Buying items with a credit card means the merchant we buy from gets payment in full immediately, but the buyer can make monthly payments to the credit card company to gradually pay for the purchase. Credit cards had a humble beginning dating back to the 1900 's. The cards were first used by banks and department stores, so that customers could charge their purchases at these locations. The drawback, however, was that the customers could only use the cards at the issuing location and they could not be used elsewhere. Credit cards were also implemented by oil companies for their employees. In his article published for the Philadelphia Federal Reserve, Stan Sienkiewicz states that “such cards were accepted only at the business that issued the card and in limited locations. While modern credit cards are mainly used for convenience, these predecessor cards were developed as a means of creating customer loyalty and improving customer service.” According to MasterCard 's article, “Banker John Biggins introduced the
Credit was born from Alfred Sloan, “ He set up the nation 's first national consumer credit agency in the 1919 to make his cars affordable”( Digital History). Sloan wanted to make money, sloan was convinced that Americans were willing to pay extra for luxury and prestige. Thus he he created credit so people would buy his cars, even if they were costly. With this new product many americans began to buy cars, clothes,furniture,household products,e.t.c. Pretty soon cars came a symbol of the new society forming in the 1920’s.”In that year, one American out of every 5 owned a car, compared to one out of every 37 English and out of every 40 French car owners”(Digital History). In other words Sloan didn’t care about lowering his price so that more people could
James D Scurlock’s “Maxed Out” focused on the revolving use of credit cards to charge now and pay later and the fact that once the credit card was maxed out another one was sent from the credit card companies and the whole process begins all over again. Scurlock’s essay made the reader aware of the downfalls and hardships that can occur when credit cards are constantly used for purchases compared to Kevin O’Donnell’s “Why Won’t Anyone give Me a Credit Card”.
Credit cards were not common during this period. First appearing in 1950, these were used mainly by the wealthy for convenience instead of carrying cash or a checkbook (Durkin & Price, 2000, p. 624).
The main argument throughout this documentary is that credit cards are the main cause of the debt crisis, which occurred in 2006 in America. Credit cards are portrayed throughout this documentary to carry negative consequences, aiding in the corruption of the system, and ultimately creating debt problems that America faces as a nation. The main question we are left with is, can we as a nation live without credit cards?
A fantastic statement! The credit card is a marvelous asset that allows you to visit different spectacular sceneries and locations that you love. Shop a lot, go wherever you wish, do whatever we do... this is what possible with a credit card. Seems Interesting! The credit cards are always filled with an ample amount of the bucks so that an individual can enjoy the life fully. The credit cards make your wishes true that can't included in the checklist of the monthly budget. Simply, add the money in the credit card and spend, spend, spend...
Consumers use credit cards for numerous reasons. Those reasons are: the earning of cash back, safety, points and frequent-flyer miles, universal acceptance, and to build credit (Investopedia.com). Credit cards can allow for cancelations a payment on a service that did not meet the expectations of the consumer, which is really beneficial. However, consumers own a few too many credit cards that all have different interest rates. The reason credit debt is so astronomical, is because consumers are paying the required minimum payment
In the world of personal finances, credit cards play an important roles in lives of many people. Sometimes, it's out of choice while other times it happens out of necessity. Regardless of why it happens, the numbers surrounding credit card debt are worthy of scrutiny in order to determine whether having or using credit cards is a sound financial decision.
The next step in credit cards was the Diners Club released by Frank X. McNamara in 1950. The idea of Diners Club came upon Frank X McNamara when he was in a restaurant in new york city, after eating dinner he realize he had no money to pay with and his wife couldn’t send him the money since she live distant. This is where he had the idea of creating an alternative way for payments. The Diners Club was primarily a travel and entertainment card made out of cardboard. At the end of each month their payment had to be paid. A year later the dinner club expanded to 20,000 americans carrying a credit cards in their pockets. Diners clubs became into a promotion, seducing the public to buy one. Their promotions were from a free field trip to all around
Credit cards offer many conveniences for a person. For example it would save people a whole lot of money if people use their card or, having to pay with people 's hard earned cash right on the spot. Sometimes when people have to return things or they get damaged or broken, people call the merchant and get a chargeback from them. This evidence supports that: “ If people paid with a credit card,people should only waste a person 's time on a single call that is escalated to a supervisor. If that person is unwilling to refund people 's money, inform him or her that the buyer intends to request a chargeback from a person 's credit card issue.” (Jason Steele) That is one of many ways that people can save money and rather than spending people 's money or carrying their own money around all the time.people can also look for more signup bonuses for different kinds of credit cards. “ Real credit card gurus live for those amazing sign up bonuses that come around every now and then. Have their
Bank credit cards have short-term benefits to consumers. They are a convenient way for consumers to be able to purchase items, pay bills, go on vacations, etc., without having the necessary funding for those things at the time of the transactions. The credit cards also benefit the banks that profit form the interest and late fees that consumers have to pay. In the long-term, consumers often find themselves in sever debt due to unmanageable spending habits. Thus, creating situations where very few banks and consumers profit from the use of the credit cards. So for some it has long-term benefits but for many others there is not.
Credit cards became a severely important and reliable method of payment. Not only is it is extremely convenient but building good credit became a necessity. In 2011, credit cards were being used for over 22 billion transactions that consisted on living an average lifestyle valued at a projected 2.1 trillion dollars. Consumer involvements and outlooks toward credit cards, as revealed in user surveys, may be subjective by overall lucrative circumstances, clients who own monetary conditions; the involvements of friends, family members, and colleagues; enclose broad knowledge conveyed by media reports about the credit card market. Customers with a stable occupation and growing salaries, for example, may have
In the modern era, credit card is being the efficient and secured form of payment which is becoming a necessity for every individual rather than a choice. Especially in United States of America, credit card is being considered as an essential part of life. Since the introduction of Credit cards back in 1920s, the payment system has been revolutionized and there has been a major transformation in the American economy. However, the excessive use of the credit card has resulted in a crisis which is affecting not only the individuals but whole of the country’s economy.
Credit cards slowly and steadily have become convenience of modern society and a symbol of a developing modern global economy. They let you shop on credit and save you from the troubles of searching for an ATM or keeping cash on hand. Also, additional benefits of credit cards such as special offers and reward points are can make shopping fun and also helps banks attract new customers.
It allows the cardholder to pay for goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for them later. However, credit card has become a lot more than just a payment card. Banks have also started issuing loan on the credit card based on the credit history of the borrower. These are primarily short term loans which are meant for small business. This a convenient option as the customer then need not calculate a balance remaining before every transaction, provided the total charges do not exceed the maximum credit line for the
Nowadays, it seems that trading method tends to be cashless, credit card as a pattern of payment allows a purchaser to buy a product or service instantly even if the purchaser does not have the money at hand (Foscht et al., 2009:325). In modern world economic systems, an increasing trend of transactions proceed via credit cards (Geanakoplos and Dubey, 2010:153), which is no exception for students. Firstly, they have powerful purchasing ability. According to Blankson et al (2012:568), College students have purchasing power of $200 billion annually. Recent data indicate that 84% of undergraduate students have a credit card, and the average number of cards held per cardholder is 4.6 (Mae, 2009, cited in Robb, 2011:690). Moreover, half of the students have at least four credit cards with an average total debt of $3,170(Hancock et al., 2012:369). Credit card debt levels of this dimensions indicate that a large number of college students use credit cards as a source of short-term revolving credit, being called installment users (Robb, 2010:824). According to Robb (ibid), previous research has identified two different types of credit-card users: instalment user and