With almost everyone having at least one credit card in their wallets it is often surprising for people to realise this kind of plastic is still relatively young.
In fact, credit cards were first introduced in Australia in 1974 by Bankcard, making this form of credit just 37 years old.
Prior to their introduction, credit cards were something only a few Australians were familiar with, specifically those who had travelled to America.
Within 18 months of Bankcard and the Commonwealth Bank launching credit cards there were 1,054,000 Australian cardholders and 49,000 merchants accepting credit across the country.
The trend towards credit and other card payment methods has climbed higher and higher into the millions of cards that now sit in our purses and wallets.
Bankcard itself was closed down in 2006 as competition between the local-only brand and internationally accepted brands like MasterCard and Visa came to a head.
At the time, a spokesperson for Bankcard said that while the brand had set Australia off on a path towards cashless payments, the market had become far more sophisticated over time and Bankcard had lost its appeal.
This sophistication also marked a change in the way that credit card provider’s operated, foreshadowing the rise in competitive features such as balance transfers, low rates, no annual fees and rewards programs.
These days credit cards are much easier to use, swap or cancel, making it even more important for providers to come up with features that will keep cardholder’s happy.
But the sacrifice for this financial convenience has come in the form of debt, with the Reserve Bank of Australia reporting the total owed at over $49.3 billion, or over $3000 per credit card earlier this year.
While credit may now be an ingrained part of everyday life, the wrong kind of card often leads to the kind of debt seen above, making it incredibly important to compare different options.
Tags: Cards, Credit Cards
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