The world’s first credit card was born of embarrassment.
Frank McNamara, a businessman, found himself in an tricky situation one evening in 1949 when he forgot his wallet while dining at a New York restaurant called Majors Cabin Grill [Ed: Loving the logs font]. Luckily, his wife came to bail him out and pay the tab. But little did he know, that dinner would become an important part of credit card history, as it sparked his idea for a universal charge card that would allow individuals to make purchases without cash.
Together with his lawyer, Ralph Schneider, and their friend Alfred Bloomingdale, they founded Diners Club in 1950, and introduced the first multipurpose charge card, initially intended for use in restaurants, but quickly expanding to other establishments and travel services.
To launch the card McNamara returned to Majors Cabin Grill with his partner Schneider. When the bill arrived, he paid with a small cardboard card, known today as a Diners Club Card. The event was hailed as the “First Supper”.
The card allowed members (initially just 200 of McNamara’s friends and business associates) to charge their purchases and settle the bill at the end of the month, creating a convenient and efficient alternative to carrying cash. This would become a big problem for many people later on, but that’s beyond the scope of this story!
The success of Diners Club demonstrated the potential of a credit-based payment system. Other entrepreneurs and financial institutions took notice, leading to the development of competing credit card programs. In 1958, Bank of America launched the BankAmericard (which would later evolve into Visa), followed by American Express with its own charge card in 1958.
McNamara’s Diners Club innovation was not just technological but also cultural. It tapped into the changing attitudes towards consumerism and the desire for cashless convenience, a trend that has continued and amplified to this day.
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References
dinersclub.com
wikipedia.org/wiki/Diners_Club_International
eluniverso.com/noticias/2018/12/10/nota/7092426/mcnamara-nacimiento-tarjeta-credito/
Images
1. Original Diners Club cards. Original in top left. Credit: eluniverso.com.
2. Frank McNamara in 1950
3. Majors Cabin Grill postcard
4. Portrait of Diners Club co-founder Ralph Schneider, pictured in 1958. Photo: Herman Hiller.
5. Original Diners Club card from 1950
6. Diners Club poster
7. Poster for Danny Kaye 1963 comedy film The Man from the Diners' Club. Trailer HERE.
8. Modern day Diners Club International logo
