大莱卡Diners Card创造现代信用卡。国外6大银行卡品牌VISA,Mas...

【大莱卡Diners Card创造现代信用卡】第一张塑料付款信用卡支出发生于1950年2月8日，由Frank McNamara和另外2位创始人在他们帝国大厦办公室附近的Major's Cabin Grill餐厅支付，最终发展成为一个国际通用的信用卡。中国银联与02年起步，国外共有六大银行卡品牌：美国（VISA,MasterCard万事达,AmEx运通,发现Discover和Discover于08年收购的大莱卡）和日本JCB。


The First Credit Card
http://history1900s.about.com/od/1950s/a/firstcreditcard.htm

Charging for products and services has become a way of life. No longer do people bring cash when they buy a sweater or a large appliance, they charge it. Some people do it for the convenience of not carrying cash; others "put it on plastic" so they can purchase an item they can not yet afford. The credit card that allows them to do this is a twentieth century invention.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, people had to pay cash for almost all products and services. Although the early part of the century saw an increase in individual store credit accounts, a credit card that could be used at more than one merchant was not invented until 1950. It all started when Frank X. McNamara and two of his friends went out to supper.

The Famous Supper
In 1949, Frank X McNamara, head of the Hamilton Credit Corporation, went out to eat with Alfred Bloomingdale, McNamara's long-time friend and grandson of the founder of the Bloomingdale's store, and Ralph Sneider, McNamara's attorney. The three men were eating at Major's Cabin Grill, a famous New York restaurant located next to the Empire State Building, to discuss a problem customer of the Hamilton Credit Corporation.
The problem was that one of McNamara's customers had borrowed some money but was unable to pay it back. This particular customer had gotten into trouble, when he had lent a number of his charge cards (available from individual department stores and gas stations) to his poor neighbors who needed items in an emergency. For this service, the man required his neighbors to pay him back the cost of the original purchase plus some extra money. Unfortunately for the man, many of his neighbors were unable to pay him back within a short period of time and he was then forced to borrow money from the Hamilton Credit Corporation.
At the end of the meal with his two friends, McNamara reached into his pocket for his wallet so that he could pay for the meal (in cash). He was shocked to discover that he had forgotten his wallet. To his embarrassment, he then had to call his wife and have her bring him some money. McNamara vowed never to let this happen again.
Merging the two concepts from that dinner, the lending of credit cards and not having cash on hand to pay for the meal, McNamara came up with a new idea - a credit card that could be used at multiple locations. What was particularly novel about this concept was that there would be a middleman between companies and their customers.

The Middleman
Though the concept of credit has existed longer even than money, charge accounts became popular in the early twentieth century. With the invention and growing popularity of automobiles and airplanes, people now had the option to travel to a variety of stores for their shopping needs. In an effort to capture customer loyalty, various department stores and gas stations began to offer charge accounts for their customers which could be accessed by a card.
Unfortunately, people needed to bring dozens of these cards with them if they were to do a day of shopping. McNamara had the idea of needing only one credit card.
McNamara discussed the idea with Bloomingdale and Sneider and the three pooled some money and started a new company in 1950 which they called the Diners Club. The Diners Club was going to be a middleman. Instead of individual companies offering credit to their own customers (whom they would bill later), the Diners Club was going to offer credit to individuals for many companies (then bill the customers and pay the companies).
Previously, stores would make money with their credit cards by keeping customers loyal to their particular store, thus maintaining a high level of sales. However, the Diners Club needed a different way to make money since they weren't actually selling anything. To make a profit without charging interest (interest bearing credit cards came much later), the companies who accepted the Diners Club credit card were charged 7 percent for each transaction while the subscribers to the credit card were charged a $3 annual fee (begun in 1951).
McNamara's new credit company focused on salesmen. Since salesmen often need to dine (hence the new company's name) at multiple restaurants to entertain their clients, the Diners Club needed both to convince a large number of restaurants to accept the new card and to get salesmen to subscribe.
The first Diners Club credit cards were given out in 1950 to 200 people (most were friends and acquaintances of McNamara) and accepted by 14 restaurants in New York. The cards were not made of plastic; instead, the first Diners Club credit cards were made of a paper stock with the accepting locations printed on the back.
In the beginning, progress was difficult. Merchants didn't want to pay the Diners Club's fee and didn't want competition for their own store cards; while customers didn't want to sign up unless there were a large number of merchants that accepted the card.
However, the concept of the card grew and by the end of 1950, 20,000 people were using the Diners Club credit card.

The Future
Though the Diners Club continued to grow and by the second year was making a profit ($60,000), McNamara thought the concept was just a fad. In 1952, he sold his shares in the company for more than $200,000 to his two partners.
The Diners Club credit card continued to grow more popular and didn't receive competition until 1958. In that year, both American Express and the Bank Americard (later called VISA) arrived.
The concept of a universal credit card had taken root and quickly spread across the world.

History of Credit Cards
http://www.creditdonkey.com/history-of-credit.html
Credit cards make our shopping trips convenient. No longer do we need to estimate the amount of cash we’ll use or check to see if we have our checkbook in our wallet (or enough money in our checking account!). Instead, we are able to tote around a small piece of plastic to get our goods.
When you take a moment to think of everything that goes into a credit card transaction, it’s quite amazing. That piece of plastic in our wallet has been programmed with valuable information about our account so that it is able to talk to the credit card network to complete the transaction. It seems like something from The Jetsons. But the history of credit cards date back to the pre-1900s and the “modern day” general merchandise credit card made its debut in 1949 with the introduction of the Diners Club.

The history of credit cards is interesting and it brings to light several areas of information that consumers need to know as they add today’s credit cards to their wallet.

Know the terms
There is a whole list of terminology that is thrown around when it comes to credit cards. These terms can be confusing, so don’t be afraid to speak up if you don’t understand all of the aspects of your credit card. A customer service representative for your bank or credit card company should be well versed in the account details and walk you through the program.

Here are some of the common terms you’ll want to know:
Charge Card: A card that cannot carry a balance over from month to month, meaning everything charged to the card throughout the month will be due upon receipt of the bill
Credit Card: A card that allows the revolving of credit from month to month, meaning the cardholder can pay off the debt over several months
Annual Percentage Rate: Also known as the APR, this is the interest rate that will be applied to your card balance and will determine the cost of carrying a balance from month to month
Grace Period: Period of time that you can carry a balance on your card before the APR goes into effect; if you pay off your purchase during the grace period, you will not be charged interest for that charge
Know your rates

Rates have been on the rise in recent years making it more important than ever to pay close attention to the APRs associated with your credit cards. Often, you’ll be presented with several rates at account opening:
* Introductory APR – a much lower, promotional APR; the length of the introductory APR period must be disclosed to accountholders
* Purchase APR – the rate applied to your purchases
* Balance Transfer APR – the rate applied to balance transfers; often there is no grace period for balance transfers, so interest will start to accrue immediately
* Cash Advance APR – the rate that is applied when you utilize your credit card to access cash; just as with balance transfers, there typically is no grace period
* Penalty APR – most credit cards nowadays have penalty APRs that go into effect when you are late with your credit card payment, exceed your credit limit, or default on other loans you have with the bank; once this much higher APR goes into effect, it’s often extremely difficult to get it lowered to the original rate

Know your rights
Something many consumers are not aware of is that credit card companies are able to make changes to your credit card’s APRs and fees. Thankfully, due to the Credit CARD Act of 2009, credit card companies must now provide their cardholders 45 day advance notice to changes to interest rates and fees that will negatively impact the cardholder. This provides you the time to determine if it’s worthwhile to keep the account open or if it’s time to find a card that’s better suited to your lifestyle and goals.
If your credit card company does choose to make changes to the terms of your card, you will receive a notice outlining the changes and providing instructions of what you can do to avoid these changes (i.e. how to close your account without getting charged with the new fees or rates).


Credit Check: Review Your Credit Report
Every American Should Conduct an Annual Review of His or Her Credit Reputation
Informed consumers who take action to protect their individual financial interests and their credit records are the bedrock of a healthy American economy. Our educational infographic helps consumers conduct a basic annual credit health self-assessment to protect one of their most valuable financial assets: their good name.

Knowing your credit is the first step to improving your personal finances.
Yet, far too many Americans remain in the dark when it comes to knowing their credit and this can have negative implications on their interest rates, how much they pay for loans, and even their employability.
Despite about $2 trillion dollars worth of credit card transactions running through the largely digital American banking system, only about 16 million people a year out of about 183 million credit cardholders in the U.S. take the most basic step to protect themselves from fraud and their financial reputations by requesting a free annual credit report directly from the three nationwide credit reporting agencies, according to the newly established U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the U.S. Census Bureau, respectively.
While additional consumers may be purchasing or reviewing other types of credit reports - some of which may be of questionable merit - the number of people asking for the readily available, free information they are entitled to from the three credit reporting agencies that produce nearly all of the credit reports sold to banks and other lenders in the U.S. is just a fraction of those who use credit cards or apply for mortgages or installment loans each year.
“One thing we all should have learned from the Great Recession and the housing bubble is that consumers must police the economy at its transactional foundations and must have access to the knowledge and data they need to act responsibly in their own interest,” said Charles Tran, founder of CreditDonkey.com.

Review our infographic above for tips to keeping tabs on your credit health.
* Free Credit Report: Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act), consumers are entitled to access a free credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion - once every 12 months. The three nationwide credit reporting agencies operate a single web site, AnnualCreditReport.com, which is the only authorized online source for free credit reports.
* Identity Theft: An important way to protect against identity theft is to check your credit report periodically. You can request a free annual report from all three credit reporting agencies at the same time or stagger them throughout the year.
Mistakes: Credit reports can contain mistakes. While the FTC is currently conducting a study on the accuracy of credit reports, according to a report by the U.S. Federation of State Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) one out of four credit reports contains a serious error that can adversely impact your credit. Look for evidence of identity theft or activity that is not yours. All lenders do not necessarily report to all three credit reporting agencies, so errors may appear on one report but not on others.
Correct Errors: To correct errors on your credit reports, contact the credit reporting agencies in writing and provide copies of the documents to support your assertion. Credit reporting agencies must investigate claims unless they consider the dispute frivolous.
* Negative Information: Information on your credit report that is accurate can only be removed with the passage of time. For example, credit delinquencies will stay on your credit report for seven years and bankruptcy information will stay on your credit report for 10 years.
* Credit Scores: These scores represent, in theory, your creditworthiness - the likelihood that you will pay your debt.
* Multiple Scores: Many of the scores calculated for and used by lenders are not available to consumers. Credit scores influence the marketing offers consumers receive. Credit scores are likely to vary based on different scoring methods and differences in the data available. Consumers unaware of the variety of scores may purchase a score believing it is their “true” score, when in reality the score that lenders see is quite different.
* Think Carefully Before Consolidating high credit card debt through a second mortgage or home equity line of credit because most credit card debt is considered “unsecured debt” while mortgages and home equity loans are “secured debts” that require you to put up your home as collateral. If you cannot make the payments on secured loans, you could lose your home.
* Credit Counseling: If you get into credit trouble, consider contacting a reputable credit counseling organization such as one offered by a university, military base, housing authority, or branches of the U.S. Cooperative Extension Service.



Credit Cards Too Private to Recommend
Word of mouth advertising may be the best marketing around, but a new survey by CreditDonkey.com suggests that credit card companies can't depend on personal referrals for new business.

Over 1,200 online shoppers were asked how likely they were to recommend a credit card to a friend, and nearly half said they probably wouldn't recommend a card at all. In total, 48.6% of respondents said they would not recommend a credit card to a friend.

Respondents weren't so shy about recommending other financial services, however. The majority of respondents (52.7%) said they would recommend a bank to a friend, with only 26% saying they would not.

According to the survey, shoppers were more likely to recommend banks to friends than a gas station--only 38.3% said they would recommend a gas station to a friend, and 36.3% said they would not (the rest were neutral on the question).

How likely would you recommend the following to a friend?
HOW LIKELY WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING TO A FRIEND? © CREDITDONKEY
"Credit cards remain a sensitive issue to many people because there is a stigma against keeping a high amount of debt or spending more than you can afford," said Charles Tran of CreditDonkey.com. "While people might be willing to show off their purchases to friends and co-workers, they aren't necessarily so eager to admit that they used credit to facilitate those purchases."

Banks, on the other hand, are more readily recommended because their offerings vary tremendously and the value of each institution is ever changing. "Banks charge all sorts of complicated fees and offer different sorts of investment and savings options to customers," notes Tran. "It takes a lot of effort to find a bank that offers a good value, so people are always eager to find a bank that works for them."

Bank fees have risen aggressively in 2012 as banks look to find new sources of revenue. According to Moebs Services, a financial research firm, overdraft fees at banks rose by over 2% over the year ending June 30th.

"Banks are looking to make a profit from any place possible, and fees are becoming more important to them," notes Tran. "As a result, people are always talking about what value their banks offer them over the competition."

Your choice of banking institution has also become a political choice, according to Tran. "Last year, Occupy Wall Street teamed up with credit unions and encouraged people angry at Wall Street to move their money. Before that, Arianna Huffington encouraged people to move their money to credit unions. Many consumers are opting to bank with credit unions as a political statement--and they are encouraging others to do the same. This is making your choice of bank a more interesting topic of conversation," said Tran.

Still, shoppers are more likely to make less controversial recommendations to friends. Over 72% said they would recommend a grocery store to a friend and over 90% said they were likely to recommend a restaurant to a friend. "Who doesn't like sharing good food with friends?" asked Tran.

CreditDonkey.com conducted the online survey between August 20, 2012 and September 2, 2012. In total, 1,244 consumers in the U.S. aged 18 and older answered the question, "How likely would you recommend the following to a friend?"



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