Understanding Credit Cards with Susan Ehrlich

Do you know who Frank McNamara is?

Well done if you knew that he invented the credit card!

On this week’s episode of In Control, I was lucky enough to speak to Susan Ehrlich, and to learn all about credit cards. 

Susan ran the credit card divisions at Citibank, Washington Mutual, Sears, and Amazon, including building the Amazon Prime 5% cashback card. Now she's a partner at Core Innovation Capital. In other words: she knows how this industry actually works! 

I absolutely LOVED this conversation because Susan was able to go so deep. She taught me about the history of the industry, how banks and merchants make money from credit cards, and completely demystified the proposed 10% cap on interest rates. 

You do not want to miss this episode! 

We covered:

→ The three revenue streams: interchange fees, interest income, and late fees

→ Why credit cards are the most profitable product banks have

→ How Delta makes $7 billion/year from their loyalty program

→ The origins of the first credit card - The Diners Club - in 1950, started by someone who forgot his wallet at lunch

→ What happens to access and rewards if the rate cap goes through