Plastic cards. History of origin.

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The very first cards appeared at the beginning of the last century in the United States of America. The cards were offered to customers of various cafes, restaurants and shops and played the role of credit cards, that is, thanks to the presence of such a card, it was possible to “borrow” certain goods. Maps were made from ordinary cardboard. A little later, it was possible to pay with a card for gasoline. Thus, such a card became widespread enough and there was a need for embrossing. This is the application of a special inscription that allows you to fix the number of a particular card.

A little later, they began to make cards from metal, which became more practical, convenient and reliable. At that time, many cafes, bars, restaurants, shops and even oil companies already had their own cards, thanks to which the client could take advantage of a certain discount.

The real breakthrough in the development and distribution of credit cards occurred in the mid-fifties. The credit program was founded by McNamara and Bloomingdale.

Metal cards gradually began to go out of use, and were replaced by credit cards made from more reliable materials - PVC and polyester. The cards have changed significantly due to the development of new technologies. This is how special magnetic stripes and microprocessors appeared on them. Thus, the card has become a reliable and secure medium of information.

Today we are accustomed to plastic credit cards, they have firmly entered our life and have become an integral part of it. The map can be used in a wide variety of areas. Almost everyone has a plastic card, either a bank card or a discount card, and many others. Today there are many types of plastic cards and each of them has its own purpose. The most common today are plastic cards MasterCard and VISA.

Loyalty programs

In the early eighties, they began to actively use the so-called loyalty programs, thanks to which a person was provided with certain advantages, subject to the purchase of a particular product or the use of certain services.

The advantages of such programs are as follows:
  • the seller is well aware of the needs of the customers;
  • various lucrative deals are provided for clients.

The first to use loyalty programs in those years were the airlines of America, which provided customers with certain bonuses when purchasing tickets.

Today, anyone can get a plastic card for one purpose or another.
 
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