Today marks an exciting day in the history of payment methods. Barclaycard is celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the first credit card. Albeit this form of payment has become quite successful throughout the years, very little has changed. Despite best efforts, it is still one of the most insecure payment methods to grace our planet.
Celebrating Fifty Years of Bank Slavery
The credit card concept started with Barclaycard launching this type of payment in 2966. It took an investment of 20,000 Pound Sterling back in those days, as well as a staff of thirty employees. At that time, there was zero guarantee for success as well. When the cards launched, Barclaycard had a target of recruiting one million users and 30,000 outlets as soon as possible.
Reaching potential customers was a daunting challenge, though. The company blew a 500,000 GBP budget on advertising and sent over 23 million forms to potential clients. Fifty years ago, people wouldn’t get bombarded with those types of offers compared to today, so it was a solid strategy.
Interestingly enough, Barclaycard was overly successful in their efforts. With over a million signups in the first 12 months, the project was deemed a success. In that era, the maximum payment threshold was 25 GBP, very similar to the limit imposed on contactless payments right now.Keeping in mind how the company now processed half a million transactions every hour in the UK alone, it is safe to say the business has grown quite a bit.
Regardless of how one wants to look at things, a credit card is not financial freedom by any means. Consumers and enterprises link themselves to a bank indefinitely. Switching banks means also switching card providers, but the shackles of economic slavery remain virtually the same. Consumers and businesses rely on banks to access and spend their funds, which not the way things should be done.
For all of the convenience credit cards offer, they offer equally as many – or more – security flaws. Card theft, cloning, and skimming are all on the rise. Online and in-store fraud levels are seeing new heights every year. But the biggest concern is how consumers no longer control their money.
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