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126-418: A credit card is a payment card , usually issued by a bank , allowing its users to purchase goods or services , or withdraw cash , on credit . Using the card thus accrues debt that has to be repaid later. Credit cards are one of the most widely used forms of payment across the world. A regular credit card is different from a charge card , which requires the balance to be repaid in full each month, or at
252-412: A bank , to a customer that enables its owner (the cardholder) to access the funds in the customer's designated bank accounts , or through a credit account and make payments by electronic transfer with a payment terminal and access automated teller machines (ATMs). Such cards are known by a variety of names, including bank cards , ATM cards , client cards , key cards or cash cards . There are
378-685: A chip-and-PIN solution until the end of 2010. The " SEPA for Cards" has completely removed the magnetic stripe requirement from the former Maestro debit cards . Celluloid Celluloids are a class of materials produced by mixing nitrocellulose and camphor , often with added dyes and other agents. Once much more common for its use as photographic film before the advent of safer methods, celluloid's common present-day uses are for manufacturing table tennis balls , musical instruments, combs, office equipment, fountain pen bodies, and guitar picks . Nitrocellulose-based plastics slightly predate celluloid. Collodion , invented in 1848 and used as
504-526: A debit card , which can be used like currency by the owner of the card. As of June 2018, there were 7.753 billion credit cards in the world. In 2020, there were 1.09 billion credit cards in circulation in the United States, and 72.5% of adults (187.3 million) in the country had at least one credit card. The size of most credit cards is 85.60 by 53.98 millimetres ( 3 + 3 ⁄ 8 in × 2 + 1 ⁄ 8 in) and rounded corners with
630-484: A magnetic stripe conforming to the ISO/IEC 7813 . Most modern credit cards use smart card technology: they have a computer chip embedded in them as a security feature. In addition, complex smart cards, including peripherals such as a keypad, a display or a fingerprint sensor are increasingly used for credit cards. In addition to the main credit card number, credit cards also carry issue and expiration dates (given to
756-414: A personal identification number (PIN) for security. The smart card , which was introduced in the 1970s, was adapted for use as a payment card. Smart payment cards were introduced to the banking sector in 1979, and came into wider use in the mid-1980s. In some banking networks, the two functions of ATM cards and debit cards are combined into a single card, simply called a "debit card" or also commonly
882-456: A receipt with a record of the card details and indicating the amount to be paid or by entering a personal identification number (PIN). Also, many merchants now accept verbal authorizations via telephone and electronic authorization using the Internet, known as a card not present transaction (CNP). Electronic verification systems allow merchants to verify in a few seconds that the card
1008-630: A "bank card". These are able to perform banking tasks at ATMs and also make point-of-sale transactions, with both features using a PIN. Canada's Interac and Europe's Debit Mastercard are examples of networks that link bank accounts with point-of-sale equipment. Some debit card networks also started their lives as ATM card networks before evolving into full-fledged debit card networks, example of these networks are: Development Bank of Singapore (DBS)'s Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS) and Bank Central Asia (BCA)'s Debit BCA , both of them were later on adopted by other banks (with Prima Debit being
1134-568: A 300% annual interest rate. On 19 October 2010, Hideki Fukuba became the first operator of such an online cash back service to be charged by the police. He was charged on tax evasion of 40 million yen in unpaid taxes. A credit card issuing company, such as a bank or credit union, enters into agreements with merchants for them to accept their credit cards. Merchants often advertise in signage or other company material which cards they accept by displaying acceptance marks generally derived from logos. Alternatively, this may be communicated, for example, via
1260-408: A better quality nitrocellulose. The product then must be rinsed to wash away any free acids that did not react with the fibers, dried, and kneaded. During this time, a solution of 50% camphor in alcohol is added, which then changes the macromolecule structure of nitrocellulose into a homogeneous gel of nitrocellulose and camphor. The chemical structure is not well understood, but it is determined that it
1386-513: A card for spending a guaranteed minimum income , rather than borrowing, making it more similar to a debit card . Beginning in the late 19th century, charge cards came in various shapes and sizes, made of celluloid (an early type of plastic), copper, aluminum, steel, and other types of whitish metals. Some were shaped like coins, with a little hole enabling it to be put in a key ring. These charge coins were usually given to customers who had charge accounts in hotels or department stores. Each had
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#17327729270601512-415: A card that few consumers used. Bank of America chose Fresno because 45% of its residents used the bank, and by sending a card to 60,000 Fresno residents at once, the bank was able to convince merchants to accept the card. It was eventually licensed to other banks around the United States and then around the world, and in 1976, all BankAmericard licensees united themselves under the common brand Visa . In 1966,
1638-525: A charge account number, along with the merchant's name and logo. The charge coin offered a simple and fast way to copy a charge account number to the sales slip, by imprinting the coin onto the sales slip. The Charga-Plate, developed in 1928, was an early predecessor of the credit card and was used in the U.S. from the 1930s to the late 1950s. It was a 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 -by- 1 + 1 ⁄ 4 -inch (64 mm × 32 mm) rectangle of sheet metal related to Addressograph and military dog tag systems. It
1764-400: A credit card holder presenting an accepted form of identification must be issued a cash advance over the counter at any bank which issues that type of credit card, even if the cardholder cannot give their PIN . A Japanese law enabling credit card cash back came into force in 2010. However, a legal loophole in this system was quickly exploited by online shops dedicated to providing cash back as
1890-426: A credit card is linked to a line of credit (usually called a credit limit ) created by the issuer of the credit card for the cardholder on which the cardholder can draw (i.e. borrow), either for payment to a merchant for a purchase or as a cash advance to the cardholder. Most credit cards are issued by or through local banks or credit unions , but some non-bank financial institutions also offer cards directly to
2016-404: A credit card of items that are viewed as cash are also considered to be cash advances in accordance with the credit card network's guidelines, thereby incurring the higher interest rate and the lack of the grace period . These often include money orders , prepaid debit cards , lottery tickets, gaming chips , mobile payments and certain taxes and fees paid to certain governments. However, should
2142-403: A credit card to withdraw cash at an ATM is treated differently to a POS transaction, usually attracting interest charges from the date of the cash withdrawal. Interbank networks allow the use of ATM cards at ATMs of private operators and financial institutions other than those of the institution that issued the cards. All ATM machines, at a minimum, will permit cash withdrawals of customers of
2268-489: A credit card to withdraw cash at an ATM is treated differently to an POS transaction, usually attracting interest charges from the date of the cash withdrawal. The use of a debit card usually does not attract interest. Third party ATM owners may charge a fee for the use of their ATM. Most payment cards, such as debit and credit cards, can also function as ATM cards, although ATM-only cards are also available. Most charge and proprietary cards cannot be used as ATM cards. The use of
2394-410: A different interest rate, possibly with a single umbrella credit limit, or with separate credit limits applicable to the various balance segments. Usually, this compartmentalization is the result of special incentive offers from the issuing bank, to encourage balance transfers from cards of other issuers. If several interest rates apply to various balance segments, then payment allocation is generally at
2520-583: A few merchants. There had been a dozen attempts by small American banks, but none of them were able to last very long . In 1958, Bank of America launched the BankAmericard in Fresno, California , which would become the first successful recognizably modern credit card. This card succeeded where others failed by breaking the chicken-and-egg cycle in which consumers did not want to use a card that few merchants would accept and merchants did not want to accept
2646-412: A film product. ( Ansco , which purchased Goodwin's patent after he died, was eventually successful in a patent-infringement suit against Kodak). This ability to produce photographic images on a flexible material (as opposed to a glass or metal plate) was a crucial step toward making possible the advent of motion pictures. Most movie and photography films prior to the widespread move to acetate films in
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#17327729270602772-444: A form of easy loan with exorbitant rates. At first, the online store sells a single inexpensive item of glass marble, golf tee, or eraser with an 80,000 yen wire transfer for a 100,000 yen (1,200 US dollar) credit card payment. A month later, when the credit card provider charges the card owner with the full fee, the online store is out of the picture with no liability. In effect, what the online cash back services provide are loans with
2898-482: A magnetic stripe reader. Re-programmable stripe cards are often more secure than standard magnetic stripe cards and can transmit information for multiple cardholder accounts. Due to increased illegal copies of cards with a magnetic stripe, the European Payments Council established a Card Fraud Prevention Task Force in 2003 that spawned a commitment to migrate all ATMs and POS applications to use
3024-456: A manner similar to veneer . This celluloid was printed to look like expensive woods, or materials like marble or granite. The Seth Thomas clock company bought rights for its use as a durable coating from Celluloid Manufacturing Company in September, 1880 and marketed it as, "Adamantine". Celluloid enabled clockmakers to make the typical late Victorian style of black mantel clock in such
3150-455: A mold and allowed to harden for as long as three months. A typical formulation of celluloid might contain 70 to 80 parts nitrocellulose , nitrated to 11% nitrogen , 30 parts camphor , 0 to 14 parts dye, 1 to 5 parts ethyl alcohol , plus stabilizers and other agents to increase stability and reduce flammability. Celluloid is made from a mixture of chemicals such as nitrocellulose, camphor, alcohol, as well as colorants and fillers depending on
3276-478: A number of features specific to businesses. They frequently offer special rewards in areas such as shipping, office supplies, travel, and business technology. Most issuers use the applicant's personal credit score when evaluating these applications. In addition, income from a variety of sources may be used to qualify, which means these cards may be available to businesses that are newly established. In addition, some issuers of this card do not report account activity to
3402-403: A number of types of payment cards, the most common being credit cards , debit cards , charge cards , and prepaid cards . Most commonly, a payment card is electronically linked to an account or accounts belonging to the cardholder. These accounts may be deposit accounts or loan or credit accounts, and the card is a means of authenticating the cardholder. However, stored-value cards store money on
3528-446: A physical check, such as an electronic transfer of funds from a checking account. Depending on the issuer, the cardholder may also be able to make multiple payments during a single statement period, possibly enabling him or her to utilize the credit limit on the card several times. The cardholder must pay a defined minimum portion of the amount owed by a due date or may choose to pay a higher amount. The credit issuer charges interest on
3654-409: A positive credit history. Although the deposit is in the hands of the credit card issuer as security in the event of default by the consumer, the deposit will not be debited simply for missing one or two payments. Usually, the deposit is only used as an offset when the account is closed, either at the request of the customer or due to severe delinquency (150 to 180 days). This means that an account that
3780-497: A process of making a "horn-like material" with the inclusion of cellulose nitrate and camphor. Alexander Parkes and Daniel Spill (see below) listed camphor during their earlier experiments, calling the resultant mix "xylonite", but it was the Hyatt brothers who recognized the value of camphor and its use as a plasticizer for cellulose nitrate. They used heat and pressure to simplify the manufacture of these compounds. Isaiah Hyatt dubbed
3906-427: A radius of 2.88–3.48 millimetres ( 9 ⁄ 80 – 11 ⁄ 80 in) conforming to the ISO/IEC 7810 ID-1 standard, the same size as ATM cards and other payment cards , such as debit cards . Most credit cards are made of plastic, but some are made from metal. Credit cards have a printed or embossed bank card number complying with the ISO/IEC 7812 numbering standard. The card number's prefix , called
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4032-409: A reading head. The magnetic stripe contains all the information appearing on the card face, but allows for faster processing at point-of-sale than the then manual alternative as well as subsequently by the transaction processing company. When the magnetic stripe is being used, the cardholder will have been issued with a PIN, which is used for cardholder identification at the point-of-sale, and a signature
4158-466: A restaurant's menu or orally, or stating, "We don't take credit cards". The credit card issuer issues a credit card to a customer at the time or after an account has been approved by the credit provider, which need not be the same entity as the card issuer. The cardholders can then use it to make purchases at merchants accepting that card. When a purchase is made, the cardholder agrees to pay the card issuer. The cardholder indicates consent to pay by signing
4284-462: A solid residue remained after evaporation of the solvent from photographic collodion. Parkes patented it as a clothing waterproofer for woven fabrics in the same year. Later Parkes showcased Parkesine at the 1862 International Exhibition in London, where he was awarded a bronze medal for his efforts. The introduction of Parkesine is generally regarded as the birth of the plastics industry . Parkesine
4410-544: A way that the wooden case appeared to be black marble, and the various pillars and other decorative elements of the case looked like semi-precious stone. Celluloid was also a popular material in the construction of slide rules . It was primarily used to coat wooden slide rule faces, such as in early A.W. Faber rules, as well as cursor end pieces, such as in Keuffel and Esser rules. Celluloid remains in use for musical instruments, especially accordions and guitars. Celluloid
4536-458: A wound dressing and an emulsion for photographic plates, is dried to a celluloid like film. The first celluloid as a bulk material for forming objects was made in 1855 in Birmingham , England, by Alexander Parkes , who was never able to see his invention reach full fruition, after his firm went bankrupt due to scale-up costs. Parkes patented his discovery as Parkesine in 1862 after realising
4662-411: Is a form of short-term loan to cover the cardholder's purchases, from the date of the purchase and the payment due date, which may typically be up to 55 days. Interest is usually not charged on charge cards and there is usually no limit on the total amount that may be charged. If payment is not made in full, this may result in a late payment fee, the possible restriction of future transactions, and perhaps
4788-476: Is as celluloid ages, the camphor molecules are ‘squeezed’ out of the mass due to the unsustainable pressure used in the production. That pressure causes the nitrocellulose molecules to bind back to each other or crystallize, and this results in the camphor molecules being shoved out of the material. Once exposed to the environment, camphor can undergo sublimation at room temperature, and the plastic reverts to brittle nitrocellulose. Also, with exposure to excess heat,
4914-466: Is debited for the transaction. A debit card debits the customer's account as the transaction is made, while a credit card debits it at the end of the month automatically. What is called a credit card in the United States - meaning the customer has a bill to pay at the end of the month - does not exist in the French banking system. However, credit companies can provide these cards, but they are separate from
5040-468: Is for individuals who file for bankruptcy or those who have not repaid credit or issued checks without sufficient funds. This system is handled by the Banque de France. With a debit card (also known as a bank card , check card or plastic card ) when a cardholder makes a purchase, funds are withdrawn directly either from the cardholder's bank account , or from the remaining balance on the card, instead of
5166-448: Is late paying the balance, finance charges will be calculated and the grace period does not apply. Finance charges incurred depend on the grace period and balance; with most credit cards there is no grace period if there is any outstanding balance from the previous billing cycle or statement (i.e. interest is applied on both the previous balance and new transactions). However, there are some credit cards that will only apply finance charges on
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5292-435: Is less than 150 days delinquent will continue to accrue interest and fees, and could result in a balance that is much higher than the actual credit limit on the card. In these cases, the total debt may far exceed the original deposit and the cardholder not only forfeits their deposit but is left with additional debt. Payment card Payment cards are part of a payment system issued by financial institutions , such as
5418-480: Is made of plastic, generally PVC , but sometimes ABS . The card may embed a hologram to avoid counterfeiting . Using smart cards is also a form of strong security authentication for single sign-on within large companies and organizations. EMV is the standard adopted by all major issuers of smart payment cards. Proximity card (or prox card) is a generic name for contactless integrated circuit devices used for security access or payment systems. It can refer to
5544-480: Is made the balance already reflects the funds were spent. In a credit card's entry, the deposit column shows the available credit and the payment column shows the total owed, their sum being equal to the credit limit. Each check is written, debit card transaction, cash withdrawal, and credit card charge are entered manually into the paper register daily or several times per week. Credit card register also refers to one transaction record for each credit card. In this case,
5670-685: Is no longer required. The magnetic stripe is in the process of being augmented by the integrated chip. A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC) is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits which can process data. This implies that it can receive input which is processed – by way of the ICC applications – and delivered as an output. There are two broad categories of ICCs. Memory cards contain only non-volatile memory storage components, and perhaps some specific security logic. Microprocessor cards contain volatile memory and microprocessor components. The card
5796-578: Is one molecule of camphor for each unit of glucose. After the mixing, the mass is pressed into blocks at a high pressure and then is fabricated for its specific use. Nitrating cellulose is an extremely flammable process in which even factory explosions are not uncommon. Many western celluloid factories closed after hazardous explosions, and only two factories in China remain in business. Many sources of deterioration in celluloid exist, such as thermal, chemical, photochemical, and physical. The most inherent flaw
5922-445: Is still expected to make regular payments, as with a regular credit card, but should they default on a payment, the card issuer has the option of recovering the cost of the purchases paid to the merchants out of the deposit. The advantage of the secured card for an individual with negative or no credit history is that most companies report regularly to the major credit bureaus. This allows the cardholder to start building (or re-building)
6048-401: Is usually detailed in a cardholder agreement which may be summarized on the back of the monthly statement. The general calculation formula most financial institutions use to determine the amount of interest to be charged is (APR/100 x ADB)/365 x number of days revolved. Take the annual percentage rate (APR) and divide by 100 then multiply to the amount of the average daily balance (ADB). Divide
6174-416: Is valid and the cardholder has sufficient credit to cover the purchase, allowing the verification to happen at time of purchase. The verification is performed using a credit card payment terminal or point-of-sale (POS) system with a communications link to the merchant's acquiring bank. Data from the card is obtained from a magnetic stripe or chip on the card; the latter system is called Chip and PIN in
6300-401: Is very robust and easy to mold in difficult forms, and has great acoustic performance as cover for wooden frames since it does not block wood's natural pores. Instruments covered with celluloid can easily be recognized by the material's typical nacre -like flaming pattern. Thick celluloid panels are cooked in a bain-marie which turns them into a leather-like substance. Panels are then turned on
6426-454: The ATM card , and as a cheque guarantee card . Merchants can also offer "cashback"/"cashout" facilities to customers, where a customer can withdraw cash along with their purchase. Merchants usually do not charge a fee for purchases by debit card. With charge cards, the cardholder is required to pay the full balance shown on the statement, which is usually issued monthly, by the payment due date. It
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#17327729270606552-576: The Air Transport Association simplified the process even more with the advent of the Air Travel Card . They created a numbering scheme that identified the issuer of the card as well as the customer account. This is the reason the modern UATP cards still start with the number 1. With an Air Travel Card, passengers could "buy now, and pay later" for a ticket against their credit and receive a fifteen percent discount at any of
6678-546: The Bank Identification Number (known in the industry as a BIN), is the sequence of digits at the beginning of the number that determine the bank to which a credit card number belongs. This is the first six digits for MasterCard and Visa cards. The next nine digits are the individual account number, and the final digit is a validity check digit. Both of these standards are maintained and further developed by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 17/WG 1 . Credit cards have
6804-535: The International Air Transport Association . The concept of customers paying different merchants using the same card was expanded in 1950 by Ralph Schneider and Frank McNamara , founders of Diners Club , to consolidate multiple cards. The Diners Club, which was created partially through a merger with Dine and Sign, produced the first "general purpose" charge card and required the entire bill to be paid with each statement. That
6930-454: The Prima interbank network version of Debit BCA). Payment cards are usually plastic cards , 85.60 mm × 53.98 mm (3.370 in × 2.125 in) and rounded corners with a radius of 2.88–3.48 mm, in accordance with ISO/IEC 7810#ID-1 standard. They usually also have a unique card number conforming with the ISO/IEC 7812 numbering standard, the cardholder’s name and
7056-520: The United Kingdom and Ireland , and is implemented as an EMV card. For card not present transactions where the card is not shown (e.g., e-commerce , mail order , and telephone sales), merchants additionally verify that the customer is in physical possession of the card and is the authorized user by asking for additional information such as the security code printed on the back of the card, date of expiry, and billing address. Each month,
7182-420: The bank card number , card expiry date and cardholder's name. Though the imprinting method has been predominantly superseded by the magnetic stripe and then by the integrated chip, cards continued to be embossed in case a transaction needs to be processed manually until recently. Under manual processing, cardholder verification was by the cardholder signing the payment voucher after which the merchant would check
7308-415: The issuer similar to a debit card. One major difference between stored value cards and prepaid debit cards is that prepaid debit cards are usually issued in the name of individual account holders, while stored-value cards are usually anonymous. The term stored-value card means that the funds and or data are physically stored on the card. With prepaid cards the data is maintained on computers controlled by
7434-652: The 1950s were made of celluloid. Its high flammability was legendary since it self-ignites when exposed to temperatures over 150 °C in front of a hot movie-projector beam. While celluloid film was standard for 35mm theatrical productions until around 1950, motion-picture film for amateur use, such as 16mm and 8mm film, were on acetate "safety base", at least in the US. Celluloid was useful for producing cheaper jewellery, jewellery boxes, hair accessories and many items that would earlier have been manufactured from ivory, horn or other expensive animal products. In these applications it
7560-549: The 1978 Supreme Court case Marquette National Bank of Minneapolis v. First of Omaha Service Corp., led to substantial reforms that made the credit card industry more competitive. A 2024 study estimated that these competitive reforms resulted in substantial welfare gains, in particular for low-income groups. The fragmented nature of the U.S. banking system regulation under the Glass–Steagall Act meant that credit cards became an effective way for those who were travelling around
7686-444: The U.S. regulations. Many banks now also offer the option of electronic statements, either in lieu of or in addition to physical statements, which can be viewed at any time by the cardholder via the issuer's online banking website. Notification of the availability of a new statement is generally sent to the cardholder's email address. If the card issuer has chosen to allow it, the cardholder may have other options for payment besides
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#17327729270607812-439: The United States, however. A secured credit card is a type of credit card secured by a deposit account owned by the cardholder. Typically, the cardholder must deposit between 100% and 200% of the total amount of credit desired. Thus if the cardholder puts down $ 1,000, they will be given credit in the range of $ 500–1,000. In some cases, credit card issuers will offer incentives even on their secured card portfolios. In these cases,
7938-794: The Xylonite Co. to take over Parkes' patents, describing the new plastic products as Xylonite . He took exception to the Hyatts' claims and pursued the brothers in a number of court cases between 1877 and 1884. Initially the judge found in Spill's favor, but ultimately it was judged that neither party held an exclusive claim and the true inventor of celluloid/xylonite was Alexander Parkes, due to his mention of camphor in his earlier experiments and patents. The judge ruled all manufacturing of celluloid could continue both in Spill's British Xylonite Company and Hyatt's' Celluloid Manufacturing Company. The main use
8064-489: The accepting airlines. By the 1940s, all of the major U.S. airlines offered Air Travel Cards that could be used on 17 different airlines. By 1941, about half of the airlines' revenues came through the Air Travel Card agreement. The airlines had also started offering installment plans to lure new travellers into the air. In 1948, the Air Travel Card became the first internationally valid charge card within all members of
8190-759: The ancestor of MasterCard was born when a group of banks established Master Charge to compete with BankAmericard; it received a significant boost when Citibank merged its own Everything Card , launched in 1967, into Master Charge in 1969. Early credit cards in the U.S., of which BankAmericard was the most prominent example, were mass-produced and mass mailed unsolicited to bank customers who were thought to be low risk. According to LIFE , cards were "mailed off to unemployable people, drunks, narcotics addicts and to compulsive debtors," which Betty Furness , President Johnson's Special Assistant, compared to "giving sugar to diabetics ." These mass mailings were known as "drops" in banking terminology, and were outlawed in 1970 due to
8316-415: The bank and to easily look up past transactions for reconciliation and budgeting. The register is a personal record of banking transactions used for credit card purchases as they affect funds in the bank account or the available credit. In addition to checking numbers and so forth the code column indicates the credit card. The balance column shows available funds after purchases. When the credit card payment
8442-413: The beginning of the 21st century, it was common for a merchant to accept a charge, especially below a threshold value or from a known and trusted customer, without verifying it by phone. Books with lists of stolen card numbers were distributed to merchants who were supposed in any case to check cards against the list before accepting them, as well as verifying the signature on the charge slip against that on
8568-491: The billing cycle, the outstanding balance will increase in what is called negative amortization . This practice tends to increase credit risk and mask the lender's portfolio quality and consequently has been banned in the U.S. since 2003. Credit card advertising regulations in the U.S. include the Schumer box disclosure requirements. A large fraction of junk mail consists of the credit card offers created from lists provided by
8694-464: The booklets readily enable the location of a card's current available credit when ten or more cards are in use. Business credit cards are specialized credit cards issued in the name of a registered business, and typically they can only be used for business purposes. Their use has grown in recent decades. In 1998, for instance, 37% of small businesses reported using a business credit card; by 2009, this number had grown to 64%. Business credit cards offer
8820-454: The cancellation of the card. An ATM card (known under a number of names) is any card that can be used in automated teller machines (ATMs) for transactions such as deposits, cash withdrawals, obtaining account information, and other types of transactions, often through interbank networks . Cards may be issued solely to access ATMs, and most debit or credit cards may also be used at ATMs, but most charge and proprietary cards cannot. The use of
8946-406: The card expiry date, in addition to other security features. Historically this text was embossed to produce an imprint on multi-part paper forms, and some cards are still produced this way. Payment cards have features in common, as well as distinguishing features. Types of payment cards can be distinguished on the basis of the features of each type of card, including: In the US and other countries,
9072-419: The card inside a wallet or purse. The price of the cards is also low, usually US$ 2–$ 5, allowing them to be used in applications such as identification cards, keycards , payment cards and public transit fare cards. Re-programmable/dynamic magnetic stripe cards are standard sized transaction cards that include a battery, a processor, and a means (inductive coupling or otherwise) of sending a variable signal to
9198-475: The card issuer. The value stored on the card can be accessed using a magnetic stripe embedded in the card, on which the card number is encoded; using radio-frequency identification ( RFID ); or by entering a code number, printed on the card, into a telephone or other numeric keypad . A fleet card is used as a payment card, most commonly for gasoline, diesel and other fuels at gas stations. Fleet cards can also be used to pay for vehicle maintenance and expenses, at
9324-432: The card itself and are not necessarily linked to an account at a financial institution. The largest global card payment organizations are: UnionPay , Visa , Mastercard and American Express . It can also be a smart card that contains a unique card number and some security information such as an expiration date or with a magnetic strip on the back enabling various machines to read and access information. Depending on
9450-433: The card. Merchants who failed to take the time to follow the proper verification procedures were liable for fraudulent charges, but because of the cumbersome nature of the procedures, merchants would often simply skip some or all of them and assume the risk for smaller transactions. The early credit card industry in the United States was characterized by regional monopolies. Several landmark anti-trust court cases, including
9576-438: The cardholder is sent a statement indicating the purchases made with the card, any outstanding fees, the total amount owed and the minimum payment due. In the U.S., after receiving the statement, the cardholder may dispute any charges that are thought to be incorrect (see 15 U.S.C. § 1643 , which limits cardholder liability for unauthorized use of a credit card to $ 50). The Fair Credit Billing Act gives details of
9702-419: The counter at a bank or other financial agency, up to a certain limit; for a credit card, this will be the credit limit (or some percentage of it). Cash advances often incur a fee of 3 to 5 percent of the amount being borrowed. When made on a credit card, the interest is often higher than other credit card transactions. The interest compounds daily starting from the day cash is borrowed. Some purchases made with
9828-413: The country to move their credit to places where they could not directly use their banking facilities. There are now countless variations on the basic concept of revolving credit for individuals (as issued by banks and honored by a network of financial institutions), including organization-branded credit cards, corporate-user credit cards and store cards. In 1966, Barclaycard in the United Kingdom launched
9954-399: The date of each purchase if the total balance is not paid. For example, if a user had a $ 1,000 transaction and repaid it in full within this grace period, there would be no interest charged. If, however, even $ 1.00 of the total amount remained unpaid, interest would be charged on the $ 1,000 from the date of purchase until the payment is received. The precise manner in which interest is charged
10080-418: The decline of paper slips, some credit cards are no longer embossed and in fact the card number is no longer in the front. In addition, some cards are now vertical in design, rather than horizontal. The concept of using a card for purchases was described in 1887 by Edward Bellamy in his utopian novel Looking Backward . Bellamy used the term credit card eleven times in this novel, although this referred to
10206-399: The deposit required may be significantly less than the required credit limit and can be as low as 10% of the desired credit limit. This deposit is held in a special savings account . Credit card issuers offer this because they have noticed that delinquencies were notably reduced when the customer perceives something to lose if the balance is not repaid. The cardholder of a secured credit card
10332-413: The desired product. The first step is transforming raw cellulose into nitrocellulose by conducting a nitration reaction. This is achieved by exposing the cellulose fibers to an aqueous solution of nitric acid; the hydroxyl groups (-OH) will then be replaced with nitrate groups (-ONO 2 ) on the cellulose chain. The reaction can produce mixed products, depending on the degree of substitution of nitrogen, or
10458-812: The discretion of the fleet owner or manager. The use of a fleet card reduces the need to carry cash, thus increasing the security for fleet drivers. The elimination of cash also helps to prevent fraudulent transactions at the fleet owner's or manager's expense. Fleet cards provide convenient and comprehensive reporting, enabling fleet owners/managers to receive real time reports and set purchase controls with their cards, helping to keep them informed of all business related expenses. They may also reduce administrative work or otherwise be essential in arranging fuel taxation refunds. Other types of payment cards include: A number of International Organization for Standardization standards, ISO/IEC 7810 , ISO/IEC 7811 , ISO/IEC 7812 , ISO/IEC 7813 , ISO 8583 , and ISO/IEC 4909 , define
10584-412: The discretion of the issuing bank, and payments will therefore usually be allocated towards the lowest rate balances until paid in full before any money is paid towards higher rate balances. Interest rates can vary considerably from card to card, and the interest rate on a particular card may jump dramatically if the card user is late with a payment on that card or any other credit instrument , or even if
10710-442: The end of each statement cycle. In contrast, credit cards allow consumers to build a continuing balance of debt, subject to interest being charged at a specific rate . A credit card also differs from a charge card in that a credit card typically involves a third-party entity that pays the seller, and is reimbursed by the buyer, whereas a charge card simply defers payment by the buyer until a later date. A credit card also differs from
10836-454: The financial chaos they caused. However, by the time the law came into effect, approximately 100 million credit cards had been dropped into the U.S. population. After 1970, only credit card applications could be sent unsolicited in mass mailings. This system was computerized in 1973 under the leadership of Dee Hock , the first CEO of Visa, allowing reduced transaction time. However, until always-connected payment terminals became ubiquitous at
10962-472: The first credit card outside the United States. Although credit cards reached very high adoption levels in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand during the latter 20th century, many cultures were more cash-oriented or developed alternative forms of cashless payments, such as Carte bleue or the Eurocard (Germany, France, Switzerland, and others). In these places, the adoption of credit cards
11088-462: The holder repaying the money at a later date. In some cases, the "cards" are designed exclusively for use on the Internet, and so there is no physical card. The use of debit cards has become widespread in many countries and has overtaken use of cheques, and in some instances cash transactions, by volume. Like credit cards, debit cards are used widely for telephone and internet purchases. Debit cards can also allow instant withdrawal of cash, acting as
11214-583: The intention of manufacturing billiard balls , which until that time were made from ivory . He used cloth, ivory dust, and shellac , and on April 6, 1869, patented a method of covering billiard balls with the addition of collodion. With assistance from Peter Kinnear and other investors, Hyatt formed the Albany Billiard Ball Company (1868–1986) in Albany, New York , to manufacture the product. In 1870, John and his brother Isaiah patented
11340-428: The issuing bank and the preferences of the client, this may allow the card to be used as an ATM card, enabling transactions at automatic teller machines; or as a debit card, linked to the client's bank account and able to be used for making purchases at the point of sale ; or as a credit card attached to a revolving credit line supplied by the bank. In 2017, there were 20.48 billion payments cards (mainly prepaid cards) in
11466-399: The issuing bank decides to raise its revenue. A credit card's grace period is the time the cardholder has to pay the balance before interest is assessed on the outstanding balance. Grace periods may vary but usually range from 20 to 55 days depending on the type of credit card and the issuing bank. Some policies allow for reinstatement after certain conditions are met. Usually, if a cardholder
11592-482: The largest of merchants; although stored value cards (such as telephone cards ) are used as alternative currencies , the trend is toward RFID -based systems inside cards, cellphones, and other objects. The design of the credit card itself has become a major selling point in recent years. A growing field of numismatics (study of money), or more specifically exonumia (study of money-like objects), credit card collectors seek to collect various embodiments of credit from
11718-1004: The machine's owner (if a bank-operated machine) and for cards that are affiliated with any ATM network the machine is also affiliated. They will report the amount of the withdrawal and any fees charged by the machine on the receipt. Most banks and credit unions will permit routine account-related banking transactions at the bank's own ATM, including deposits, checking the balance of an account, and transferring money between accounts. Some may provide additional services, such as selling postage stamps. For other types of transactions through telephone or online banking , this may be performed with an ATM card without in-person authentication. This includes account balance inquiries, electronic bill payments , or in some cases, online purchases (see Interac Online ). ATM cards can also be used on improvised ATMs such as "mini ATMs", merchants' card terminals that deliver ATM features without any cash drawer . These terminals can also be used as cashless scrip ATMs by cashing
11844-422: The major credit reporting agencies . In the United States, the three major U.S. credit bureaus ( Equifax , TransUnion and Experian ) allow consumers to opt out from related credit card solicitation offers via its Opt Out Pre Screen program. Credit card issuers usually waive interest charges if the balance is paid in full each month, but typically will charge full interest on the entire outstanding balance from
11970-508: The material "celluloid" in 1872. The Hyatts later moved their company, now called the Celluloid Manufacturing Company, to Newark, New Jersey . Over the years, celluloid became the common use term used for this type of plastic. In 1878 Hyatt was able to patent a process for injection moulding thermoplastics, although it took another fifty years before it could be realized commercially, and in later years celluloid
12096-401: The merchant not disclose the actual nature of the transactions, these will be processed as regular credit card transactions. Many merchants have passed on the credit card processing fees to the credit card holders in spite of the credit card network's guidelines, which state the credit card holders should not have any extra fee for doing a transaction with a credit card. Under card scheme rules,
12222-412: The minimum payment by the due date, the issuer may impose a late fee or other penalties. To help mitigate this, some financial institutions can arrange for automatic payments to be deducted from the cardholder's bank account, thus avoiding such penalties altogether, as long as the cardholder has sufficient funds. In cases where the minimum payment is less than the finance charges and fees assessed during
12348-464: The nearest month), as well as extra codes such as issue numbers and security codes . Complex smart cards allow to have a variable security code, thus increasing security for online transactions. Not all credit cards have the same sets of extra codes nor do they use the same number of digits. Credit card numbers and cardholder names were originally embossed, to allow for easy transfer of such information to charge slips printed on carbon paper forms. With
12474-467: The nitrate groups can break off and expose nitrogen gases, such as nitrous oxide and nitric oxide , to the air. Another factor that can cause this is excess moisture, which can accelerate deterioration of nitrocellulose with the presence of nitrate groups, either newly fragmented from heat or still trapped as a free acid from production. Both of these sources allow the accumulation of nitric acid. Another form of deterioration, photochemical deterioration,
12600-499: The now familiar plastic cards to older paper merchant cards, and even metal tokens that were accepted as merchant credit cards. Early credit cards were made of celluloid plastic, then metal and fiber , then paper, and are now mostly polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic. However, the chip part of credit cards is made from metals. A cash advance is a credit card transaction that withdraws cash rather than purchasing something. The process can take place either through an ATM or over
12726-438: The older 125 kHz devices or the newer 13.56 MHz contactless RFID cards, most commonly known as contactless smartcards . Modern proximity cards are covered by the ISO/IEC 14443 (proximity card) standard. There is also a related ISO/IEC 15693 (vicinity card) standard. Proximity cards are powered by resonant energy transfer and have a range of 0–3 inches in most instances. The user will usually be able to leave
12852-438: The owner's personal credit, or only do so if the account is delinquent. In these cases, the activity of the business is separated from the owner's personal credit activity. Business credit cards are offered by American Express, Discover, and almost all major issuers of Visa and MasterCard cards. Some local banks and credit unions also offer business credit cards. American Express is the only major issuer of business charge cards in
12978-404: The percent nitrogen content on each cellulose molecule; cellulose nitrate has 2.8 molecule of nitrogen per molecule of cellulose. It was determined that sulfuric acid was to be used as well in the reaction in order to first, catalyze the nitric acid groups so it can allow for the substitution onto the cellulose, and second, allow for the groups to easily and uniformly attach to the fibers, creating
13104-440: The percentage market penetration levels achieved in the U.S., Canada, and U.K. In some countries, acceptance still remains low as the use of a credit card system depends on the banking system of each country; while in others, a country sometimes had to develop its own credit card network, e.g. U.K.'s Barclaycard and Australia 's Bankcard . Japan remains a very cash-oriented society, with credit card adoption being limited mainly to
13230-638: The physical properties of payment cards, including size, flexibility, location of the magstripe, magnetic characteristics, and data formats. They also provide the standards for financial cards, including the allocation of card number ranges to different card issuing institutions. Originally charge account identification was paper-based. In 1959 American Express was the first charge card operator to issue embossed plastic cards which enabled cards to be manually imprinted for processing, making processing faster and reducing transcription errors. Other credit card issuers followed suit. The information typically embossed are
13356-430: The previous or old balance, excluding new transactions. The flow of information and money between these parties—always through the card associations—is known as the interchange, and it consists of a few steps. A credit card register is a transaction register used to ensure the increasing balance owed from using a credit card is enough below the credit limit to deal with authorization holds and payments not yet received by
13482-454: The public. The cardholder can either repay the full outstanding balance or a lesser amount by the payment due date. The amount paid cannot be less than the ”minimum payment,” either a fixed amount or a percentage of the outstanding balance. Interest is charged on the portion of the balance not paid off by the due date. The rate of interest and method of calculating the charge vary between credit cards, even for different types of cards issued by
13608-415: The receipts they issue at the merchant's point of sale. In 2017, there were 20.48 billion payment cards in circulation worldwide In 2018, the payment card fraud losses in the world were US$ 27.85 billion, and US$ 9.47 billion in the U.S. With a stored-value card, a monetary value is stored on the card, and not in an externally recorded account. This differs from prepaid cards where money is on deposit with
13734-503: The regular banking system. In this case, the consumer decides the maximum amount, making it impossible to fall into debt by forgetting to pay a credit card bill. Credit scores or credit history do not exist in France, and therefore the need to build a credit history does not exist. Personal information cannot be shared among banks, which means there is no centralized system for tracking creditworthiness. The only centralized system in France
13860-399: The result by 365 and then take this total and multiply by the total number of days the amount revolved before payment was made on the account. Financial institutions refer to interest charged back to the original time of the transaction and up to the time a payment was made, if not in full, as a residual retail finance charge (RRFC). Thus after an amount has revolved and a payment has been made,
13986-414: The same company. Many credit cards can also be used to take cash advances through ATMs , which also attract interest charges, usually calculated from the date of cash withdrawal. Some merchants charge a fee for purchases by credit card, as they will be charged a fee by the card issuer. In other countries such as France , the distinction between debit and credit cards is based on when the customer's account
14112-400: The signature against the cardholder's signature on the back of the card. Cards conform to the ISO/IEC 7810 ID-1 standard, ISO/IEC 7811 on embossing, and the ISO/IEC 7812 card numbering standard. Magnetic stripes started to be rolled out on debit cards in the 1970s with the introduction of ATMs . The magnetic stripe stores card data which can be read by physical contact and swiping past
14238-414: The unpaid balance if the billed amount is not paid in full (typically at a much higher rate than most other forms of debt). This impact accounts for roughly 8% of all interest ever paid. Thus, hiding the minimum payment option for automatic and manual payments and focusing on the total debt may mitigate the unwanted consequences of default minimum payments. In addition, if the cardholder fails to make at least
14364-435: The user of the card will still receive interest charges on their statement after paying the next statement in full (in fact the statement may only have a charge for interest that collected up until the date the full balance was paid, i.e. when the balance stopped revolving). The credit card may simply serve as a form of revolving credit , or it may become a complicated financial instrument with multiple balance segments each at
14490-555: The world. Historically, bank cards have also served the purpose of a cheque guarantee card , a now almost defunct system to guarantee cheques at point of sale. The first bank cards were automated teller machine (ATM) cards issued by Barclays in London in 1967, and by Chemical Bank in Long Island , New York , in 1969. In 1972, Lloyds Bank issued the first bank card to feature an information-encoding magnetic strip, using
14616-555: Was a trademark of Farrington Manufacturing Co . Charga-Plates were issued by large-scale merchants to their regular customers, much like department store credit cards of today. In some cases, the plates were kept in the issuing store rather than held by customers. When an authorized user made a purchase, a clerk retrieved the plate from the store's files and then processed the purchase. Charga-Plates sped up back-office bookkeeping and reduced copying errors that were done manually in paper ledgers in each store. In 1934, American Airlines and
14742-413: Was contracted for this work, which was done by thinly slicing layers out of celluloid blocks and then removing the slice marks with heated pressure plates. After this, the celluloid strips were coated with a photosensitive gelatin emulsion. It is not certain exactly how long it took for Carbutt to standardize his process, but it occurred no later than 1888. A 15-inch-wide (380 mm) sheet of Carbutt's film
14868-410: Was embossed with the customer's name, city, and state. It held a small paper card on its back for a signature. In recording a purchase, the plate was laid into a recess in the imprinter , with a paper "charge slip" positioned on top of it. The record of the transaction included an impression of the embossed information, made by the imprinter pressing an inked ribbon against the charge slip. Charga-Plate
14994-466: Was followed by Carte Blanche and in 1958 by American Express which created a worldwide credit card network (although these were initially charge cards that later acquired credit card features). Until 1958, no one had been able to successfully establish a revolving credit financial system in which a card issued by a third-party bank was being generally accepted by a large number of merchants, as opposed to merchant-issued revolving cards accepted by only
15120-486: Was in movie and photography film industries, which used only celluloid film stock prior to the adoption of acetate safety film in the 1950s. Celluloid is highly flammable, difficult and expensive to produce and no longer widely used. English photographer John Carbutt founded the Keystone Dry Plate Works in 1879 with the intention of producing gelatin dry plates. The Celluloid Manufacturing Company
15246-419: Was initially much slower. Due to strict regulations regarding bank overdrafts, some countries, France in particular, were much quicker to develop and adopt chip-based credit cards which are seen as major anti-fraud credit devices. Debit cards , online banking , ATMs , mobile banking , and installment plans are used more widely than credit cards in some countries. It took until the 1990s to reach anything like
15372-608: Was made from cellulose treated with nitric acid and a solvent . The Parkesine company ceased trading in 1868. Pictures of Parkesine are held by the Plastics Historical Society of London. There is a plaque on the wall of the site of the Parkesine Works in Hackney , London. In the 1860s, an American, John Wesley Hyatt , acquired Parkes's patent and began experimenting with cellulose nitrate with
15498-410: Was often referred to as "Ivorine" or "French Ivory", after a form of celluloid developed in France with grain lines in made to resemble ivory . It was also used for dressing table sets, dolls, picture frames, charms, hat pins, buttons, buckles, stringed instrument parts, accordions , fountain pens, cutlery handles and kitchen items. The main disadvantage the material had was that it was flammable. It
15624-423: Was soon overtaken by Bakelite and Catalin . Soviet roly-poly dolls were made from celluloid on smokeless powder plants until 1996, and table tennis balls – until 2014. " Parker Brothers ... made some versions [of diabolos ] out of hollow Celluloid--which, because of its 'frictionless' properties, spun even faster than steel." Shelf clocks and other furniture items were often covered with celluloid in
15750-571: Was used as the base for photographic film . The development of celluloid was partially spurred by the desire to reduce reliance on ivory, with its shortages caused by overhunting. An 1883 invention allowed celluloid manufacturers to imitate the distinctive graining of ivory, and by the end of 19th century celluloid was marketed as a lighter (and three times cheaper ) ivory substitute under the names "Ivarine", "Ivaleur", "French Ivory", "Parisian Ivory", "Grained Ivory", and "Ivory Pyralin". English inventor Daniel Spill had worked with Parkes and formed
15876-476: Was used by William Dickson for the early Edison motion picture experiments on a cylinder drum Kinetograph. However, the celluloid film base produced by this means was still considered too stiff for the needs of motion-picture photography. By 1889, more flexible celluloids for photographic film were developed, and both Hannibal Goodwin and the Eastman Kodak Company obtained patents for
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