Credit Card Link

The story goes that businessman was dining at Major’s Cabin Grill in New York City when he realized he had forgotten his wallet.

The modern credit card was actually born from an awkward moment at a dinner table in 1949. The "First" Card: A Forgotten Wallet

: It was the first multipurpose charge card. Within a year, it grew to over 42,000 members and was accepted at 27 restaurants. Evolution of the "Plastic" Era credit card

: To settle the bill, his wife had to drive down and pay for him, an embarrassment he didn't want to repeat.

: In the 1960s, IBM designers struggled to attach magnetic tape to cards until an engineer's wife suggested ironing it on , which worked and paved the way for modern swiping. A Useful Lesson: The "Freeloader" Paradox The story goes that businessman was dining at

: A few months later, he returned to that same restaurant and paid using a small cardboard card—the Diners Club card .

In the industry, people who pay their bills in full every month are often jokingly called . Within a year, it grew to over 42,000

Before McNamara's cardboard card, merchants in the 1800s and early 1900s used metal coins or "Charga-Plates" to let regular customers buy on credit locally.