Diners Club International, originally founded as Diners Club, was formed in 1950 by Frank X. McNamara, Ralph Schneider and Casey R. Taylor. When it first emerged, it became the first independent credit card company in the world. Not GFDL. Corporate logo of Diners Club Intl. ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Credit cards An array of various credit cards. ...

Foundation

While many stores and businesses were in the practice of extending credit to their customers, or allowing them to set up charge accounts, the revolutionary idea behind Diners Club was that the same card could be used to pay a variety of merchants. In 1950, the first Diners Club cards were given out to 200 associates of McNamara, mostly salesmen who often needed to dine with clients. At that time, Diners Club had signed up 14 restaurants in New York City. Membership grew quickly as both new customers applied for the card and more restaurants signed on. By the end of 1950, Diners Club had 20,000 customers and was accepted at over 1000 restaurants. Credit as a financial term, used in such terms as credit card, refers to the granting of a loan and the creation of debt. ... Toms Restaurant, a restaurant in New York made familiar by Suzanne Vega and the television sitcom Seinfeld For other uses, see Restaurant (disambiguation). ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Big Apple, The Capital of the World[1], Gotham [2], Metropolis Location Location in the state of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,214. ...

In 1952, McNamara sold his share of the company to Joe Williams of Archer City, Texas, and the company grew unabated for several years, eventually signing merchants all over the United States. Their monopoly was short-lived, however, as the more generalized American Express and BankAmericard (later renamed VISA) arrived towards the end of that decade. Amoco gasoline also issued its own co-branded Diners Club cards for a time. 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... American Express NYSE: AXP is a diversified global financial services company, headquartered in New York City. ... Bold text Visa is a brand of credit card and debit card operated by the Visa International Service Association of San Francisco, California, USA, an economic joint venture of 21,000 financial institutions that issue and market Visa products. ... Amoco Oil Corporation was founded in 1889 by John Rockefeller and first incorporated as Standard Oil of Indiana, formed from the breakup of gasoline giant Standard Oil. ...

Diners Club expanded its customer base in Canada by acquiring the en route Card from Air Canada in 1992, and marketed the card under the combined name for a period of time as the Diners Club/en route Card. Diners Club remains a minor player in Canada. The en route Card was a credit card that was introduced by Air Canada. ... Air Canada Boeing 767-300 (C-GGFJ). ...

Today, Diners Club International is a part of Citibank, a unit of Citigroup, and has expanded its coverage to include all types of merchants instead of being limited to restaurants. The Diners Club U.S. cards are now a part of the MasterCard network, meaning cardholders can use their cards at over 24 million locations worldwide. Citigroup Inc. ... MasterCard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) is a membership organization owned by the 25,000+ financial institutions that issue its card. ...

Carte Blanche

Carte Blanche was a minor credit card that was acquired by Citibank and phased out of service. In 2000, the Carte Blanche name was revived when Diners Club, which was also acquired by Citibank, introduced an upscale version of its card: the Diners Club Carte Blanche Card. It is an upper-level charge card on par with the American Express Platinum card. The card carries a US$300 annual fee and offers an extensive menu of perks geared toward spendthrifty travelers. It is accepted wherever regular Diners Club cards are accepted. Although Diners Club requires payment in full within 30 days, corporate accounts can pay within 60 days without penalty. American Express NYSE: AXP is a diversified global financial services company, headquartered in New York City. ...

See also

• Credit cards

A credit card system is a type of retail transaction settlement and credit system, named after the small plastic card issued to users of the system. ...

External links

• Diners Club International Official Site
• Diners Club USA