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- A credit card is a plastic card issued by a
- credit company, retail outlet, or bank, which
- enables the holder to obtain goods or
- services on a specified credit limit, payable
- on specified terms. The first credit card was
- introduced 1950 in the USA. Some credit cards
- also act as bank cards to enable customers to
- obtain money more easily from various bank
- branches. Intelligent credit cards are now
- being introduced that contain coded
- information about the customer and the amount
- of credit still available. This can be read
- by a terminal connected with the company's
- central computer. A number of intelligent
- cards were introduced in the 1980s, but not
- all are credit cards. Some cards require
- payment in advance such as phone cards,
- others debit the consumer's bank account
- immediately on use.
-
- Subject by: Vince Pike
-