bgbigdog said:Diners Club credit cards were the first & invented sometime in the 50’s. No word as to whether Kessman showed up in Missoula with one. I know he had one of those playboy keys & a coffee club card though. :lol:
"The first Diners Club credit cards were given out in 1950 to 200 people (most were friends and acquaintances of McNamara) and accepted by 14 restaurants in New York. The cards were not made of plastic; instead, the first Diners Club credit cards were made of paper stock with the accepting locations printed on the back.
In the beginning, progress was difficult. Merchants didn't want to pay the Diners Club's fee and didn't want competition for their store cards; while customers didn't want to sign up unless there were a large number of merchants that accepted the card.
However, the concept of the card grew, and by the end of 1950, 20,000 people were using the Diners Club credit card.
The Future
Though the Diners Club continued to grow and by the second year was making a profit ($60,000), McNamara thought the concept was just a fad. In 1952, he sold his shares in the company for more than $200,000 to his two partners.
The Diners Club credit card continued to grow more popular and didn't receive competition until 1958. In that year, both American Express and the Bank Americard (later called VISA) arrived.'