Inventor of the Credit Card Dies
Joseph P. Williams, inventor of the general pupose credit card, dies aged 88
30th November 2003
Joseph P. Williams, the creator of the first multi-purpose credit card has died at the age of 88.
His BankAmericard, developed while working at the Bank of America in 1958, was the first credit card in the mould of today's familiar cards. Previous cards had been restricted to certain stores or products (like today's store cards), or were only usable in a small geographic region, or required full repayment every month (Diners Club and American Express were the notable examples).
The BankAmericard had a rocky start, with a 20% default rate, but recovered and by the 1970s became wildly successful and was renamed Visa. The rest is history...
Read More: Guardian article, Obituary
|
More Visa News : Euro Competition Warning for Credit Card Companies, OFT to Probe Visa Over Charges, Halifax Card Switch Blocks Thousands from Online Shopping, Credit Card Database Broken Into |
Home - Credit Cards
