The History of Credit Cards (Encore)
Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More
00:00
The History of Credit
The idea of credit has a very long history. The code of Hammurabi, one of the oldest systems of laws in the world, put maximum interest rates on loans of grain and silver. Credit was something that was usually done on a very personal basis. An individual store would extend credit to individual customers based on their relationship and trust. This form of credit wasn't intended to be alone like many credit cards are today. It had to be paid in full at the end of every month. In 1935, the charge-of-plate system was unveiled by the charge-Of-plate group out of New York. Another innovation came from the Air Transportation Association, which issued the Air Travel Card
Play episode from 01:44
Transcript
