Credit cards were not invented in a single year. Merchant cards existed decades before modern bank cards, and the first widely accepted multipurpose charge card was not the same thing as a revolving-credit card. In the United States, the key milestones are Diners Club in 1950, Franklin National Bank in 1952, and BankAmericard in 1958—each a different kind of “first.”
What counts as the first credit card?
It depends on what the card did. Early cards issued by department stores, railroads, airlines, and gas stations generally worked within one merchant or chain. A customer could charge purchases to an account, but that does not make those cards equivalent to a modern general-purpose bank card with revolving credit.
The American Bankers Association (ABA) describes Diners Club’s 1950 launch as the beginning of the national charge-card industry: it reached beyond the cards tied to a single retail establishment or chain. Diners Club calls its product the world’s first multipurpose charge card. Those descriptions concern a broadly usable charge card, not necessarily the first revolving credit product.
- First multipurpose charge card: Diners Club, 1950, according to the company’s history.
- First bank-issued credit card: Franklin National Bank, 1952, according to the ABA.
- First bank credit card with national acceptance: BankAmericard, according to the ABA, in 1959.
These are different milestones rather than competing answers to one definition of “first.”
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How credit cards developed in the United States
| Year | Milestone | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Early 20th century | Merchants and service businesses issued cards | Cards often worked at one merchant or within a particular chain, rather than across a broad network. Federal Reserve History describes these businesses among the nonbank origins preceding bank networks. |
| 1950 | Diners Club launched a multipurpose charge card | The ABA identifies the launch as the start of the national charge-card industry; Diners Club describes it as the first multipurpose charge card. ABA timeline; Diners Club history. |
| 1951 | Diners Club reported 42,000 members | The issuer says its membership had reached 42,000 as it expanded into major U.S. cities. Diners Club history. |
| 1952 | Franklin National Bank issued a credit card | The ABA identifies it as the first bank credit card. ABA timeline. |
| 1953 | Diners Club reported its first international acceptance | The company says businesses in the United Kingdom, Canada, Cuba, and Mexico agreed to accept the card. Diners Club history. |
| 1958 | Bank of America launched BankAmericard in California | This was the launch of a bank card in California, not yet the date of national acceptance. Federal Reserve History. |
| 1959 | BankAmericard gained national acceptance | The ABA calls it the first bank credit card to gain national acceptance. Diners Club separately reported one million members and a New York Stock Exchange listing that year. ABA timeline; Diners Club history. |
| 1966 | Interbank was formed | The bank cooperative that preceded the MasterCard network began in New York, according to Federal Reserve History. The ABA also dates a debit-card point-of-sale test at the Bank of Delaware to 1966; that was a debit milestone, not a credit-card launch. Federal Reserve History; ABA timeline. |
| 1970 | BankAmericard was spun off into a separate company | Federal Reserve History dates the spin-off to 1970. Federal Reserve History. |
| 1974 | Diners Club reported a striking tourist statistic | The issuer’s timeline says five out of six tourists entering the United States with a credit card carried a Diners Club card. This is a company-published historical figure, not an independently verified market estimate. Diners Club history. |
| 1976 | BankAmericard was rebranded as Visa | Federal Reserve History dates the rebranding to 1976. Federal Reserve History. |
| 1977 | Federal Reserve left point-of-sale infrastructure to private development | A congressional commission recommended against the Federal Reserve operating payment infrastructure at the point of sale. Federal Reserve History. |
| 1985 | Discover emerged as a nonbank issuer | Federal Reserve History identifies Discover as another issuer outside the banking system. Federal Reserve History. |
From individual cards to shared networks
A card’s launch date, the date it became widely accepted, and the start of a network are not interchangeable. BankAmericard began in California in 1958, for example, while the ABA places its national acceptance milestone in 1959. Interbank, the predecessor to the MasterCard network, was formed in 1966. BankAmericard’s 1970 spin-off and 1976 rebranding as Visa mark later organizational changes, not the original invention of the card.
Expanding acceptance also meant solving a coordination problem. In the early years of multi-bank card systems, transaction records moved on paper and settlement relied on bilateral tabulation. Merchants commonly called authorization centers to check transactions. Federal Reserve districts considered point-of-sale switching infrastructure in the early 1970s, but after a 1977 commission recommendation, the Federal Reserve left that infrastructure to private development. The Federal Reserve History account was published September 25, 2024.
How consumer protections changed with card use
As cards spread, the rules around issuing and lending them came under scrutiny. Unsolicited mass mailings raised concerns, and Congress amended the Truth in Lending Act to prohibit the practice. The ABA dates passage of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to 1974, another important part of the period’s changing consumer-credit landscape.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What this history does not establish
This timeline focuses on the U.S. development of merchant cards, charge cards, bank cards, and networks. It is not a complete worldwide history. The dates and milestones here also do not provide a detailed chronology of magnetic stripes, EMV chips, or contactless payments, so those technologies should not be assigned dates on the basis of this account.
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