Swipe, tap, or insert your curiosity card as we reveal 20 eye-opening credit card facts that will have you financially enlightened! From their humble beginnings to their modern-day ubiquity, we’re about to dive into the plastic world of credit cards, unraveling the mysteries behind those shiny rectangles in your wallet. Whether you’re a seasoned spender or just getting your financial feet wet, these credit card insights are sure to leave you with a chip-embedded sense of knowledge. So, grab your virtual wallet, mind your credit limit, and let’s embark on a transactional journey through the fascinating universe of credit cards!
1-5 Fun Facts About Credit Cards
1. The first credit card, made of cardboard, was introduced in 1949 by the Diners Club. Co-founder Frank McNamara conceived the idea after forgetting his wallet while dining with clients. His wife saved the day, inspiring the birth of the multi-purpose charge card to avoid future embarrassment.
2. The concept of utilizing a card for making purchases was presented in Edward Bellamy’s 1887 utopian novel “Looking Backward.” The term “credit card” was utilized in the novel, but it referred to a card designed for spending a government-provided citizen’s dividend, not for borrowing.
3. Equality wasn’t always in the cards – until 1974, banks could deny unmarried women credit cards unless they had their husband’s approval. Divorced women faced extra scrutiny due to outdated stereotypes.
4. In an experimental move in 1958, Bank of America mailed 60,000 residents of Fresno, California, a plastic card with a $500 credit line. The experiment, conducted in a less media-intensive location, turned out to be remarkably successful and evolved into the Visa program.
5. That clingy glue holding new credit cards to paper is called Fugitive Glue. It’s the silent hero ensuring your card doesn’t go astray.
6-10 Interesting Facts About Credit Cards
6. Research has shown that our brain’s pain receptors activate upon seeing high prices. However, the act of using credit cards instead of cash effectively numbs the pain associated with spending. Sneaky, right?
7. Charging extra fees for credit card usage is illegal in 10 U.S. states.
8. Visa and MasterCard blocked donations to WikiLeaks in 2010, limiting the group’s funding.
9. Credit cards with chips take longer to process because they have technology that creates a unique encrypted card verification code for each transaction. Whereas, Cards containing merely the magnetic stripe employ the same code every time, making them more vulnerable to forgery.
10. An episode about the tractability and vulnerability of RFID chips was barred on the show “MythBusters” due to credit card companies’ threats to withdraw advertising support from the Discovery network.
11-15 Surprising Facts About Credit Cards
11. Credit card “cash rewards” are often not funded by banks but are charged to businesses, which may either absorb the cost or pass it on to consumers.
12. Student loans vs. credit card debt – in the battle of the financial titans, student loan debt has outpaced credit card debt, soaring over a staggering $1 trillion.
13. You can opt out of credit card offers by calling 1-800-5 OPT OUT and be removed from the main credit unions’ mailing lists for five years.
14. In 2009, a credit card glitch led to a New Hampshire man being charged $23 quadrillion by Bank of America and Visa.
15. Subscribers with certain female names to adult content websites are flagged for potential credit card fraud.
16-20 Insane Facts About Credit Cards
16. The collective length of all credit cards worldwide could circle the Earth 3.5 times.
17. Approximately 10,000 credit card transactions occur every second globally.
18. Credit card companies maintain unpublished backdoor numbers allowing consumers to communicate with analysts who have the authority to approve declined applications, lower APRs, or increase limits.
19. A hacker managed to steal nearly 1.8 million credit card numbers, a couple of years after infiltrating the Pentagon and numerous military bases, simply because he felt like it.
20. Leonard Cohen’s manager took $5 million from him and sold his music rights to cover her expenses, leaving Cohen with $150,000. He chose not to recover the money, hoping his manager would learn from her actions.
That’s it for this post guys, I hope you had fun while reading about 20 Bad Facts About Credit Card
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