What Are Credit Cards And What Type Of Cards Are Available?

Although this section of the Guide is entitled “What Are Credit Cards And What Type Of Cards Are Available?” – a more accurate title would be “What Are Plastic Payment Cards”, as we shall take a look at an overview of all plastic payment cards.

Now, although it may seem like plastic cards have been around forever, the birth of plastic cards can actually be traced back to as recently as the mid-1950s. In the mid-1950s two types of plastic payments cards were issued that are still in existence today:

• the Diners Club Card, which was the first plastic payment card issued; and
• Bank of America’s Visa Card (issued in 1958), which was the first true credit card.

Today the business of plastic payment cards has exploded exponentially, and we have literally thousands of different types of credit cards. That said, underlying the system are basically the same Big Four that came to the forefront in the 1970s:

• Visa Card;
• MasterCard;
• Diners Club; and
• American Express (or Amex)

The business, on the other hand, is anything but what it was 30 years ago. Today, plastic payment cards account for:

• over £1 trillion worth of purchases a year
• a viable purchase option in over 20 million outlets around the world
• a presence in 160 countries in the world
• UK household debt levels to the tune of £200 billion!

Next Article in Guide:

• Types of Plastic Payment Cards Available
  Before proceeding further, it is probably best to dispel one of the biggest misconceptions around regarding UK credit cards – that is, although all UK credit cards can be considered plastic payment cards, not all plastic payment cards can be considered UK credit cards.