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Credit cards are organized systems of payment where the issuer lends money to the consumer. The name originated from a small plastic card that is generally issued to the users of the system. The credit cards permit the consumer to revolve their balance at the cost of having the interest charged.
There is a basic difference between a credit card and a debit card in the fact that debit cards does not remove money from the user’s account following each and every transaction. Credit cards are also different from charge card which involves the payment of the balance amount at the end of each month. There is a specific shape and size of most of the credit cards which is determined by the ISO 7810 standard. The history of credit cards dates back to the nineteenth century when the notion of using a card to purchase something was invented by Edward Bellamy. The predecessor of credit card was a number of credit schemes adopted by the merchants in their dealings. The credit card first made its appearance in the United States in the early twentieth century particularly to sell fuel to meet the demands of the automobile owners.
At present credit card works on the verification done by the electronic verification system. But at first a credit card is issued to the user after an account has been agreed upon by the credit provider which is generally a bank. The credit card holder is allowed to make use of the account when buying anything from the merchants who accept credit cards but up to the credit limit that has already been decided before. After purchasing the credit card holder points out his decision to pay through the credit account and thereby signs a receipt that comprise of the card details and the amount to be paid by entering the PIN.
With the advancement of science many merchants at present accept the verbal authorization over the telephone or by using the internet and the procedure is known as customer not present or CNP transaction. There are electronic verification systems installed with the merchants accepting the credit cards that verify that the card is valid or not. The credit cards are a boon to the present society which equips the people to fulfill their dreams of possessing whatever they desire but every good thing with a price and everyone knows it.
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