Credit card
payment card issued to users as a system of payment
A credit card (or charge card) is a payment card, usually issued by a bank, allowing the card's users to purchase goods and services, or withdraw cash on credit. Card use thereby accrues debt that must be repaid later.
A normal credit card differs from a charge card, which requires the balance to be repaid in full each month or at the end of each statement cycle. By contrast, credit cards allow consumers to build a continuing debt balance, subject to interest charged at a specific rate. Moreover, a credit card differs from a charge card in that a credit card typically involves a third-party entity that pays the seller and is reimbursed by the buyer, whereas a charge card simply defers payment by the buyer until a later date. A credit card also differs from a debit card, which can be used like currency by the card's owner.
In June 2018, there were 7.75 billion credit cards in the world. In 2020, there were 1.09 billion credit cards in circulation in the United States; 72.5% of adults (187.3 million people) in this country had at least one credit card.
History
Early charge cards and coins
Starting in the late 19th century, charge cards were available in various shapes and sizes; they were made of celluloid, copper, aluminum, steel, and other types of whitish metals. Some cards were shaped like coins, with a small hole allowing them to be placed on key rings.
“Credit card” enters the record as payment card issued to users as a system of payment. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Credit, card and payment can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Credit card” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Credit, card and payment provides the most credible route into that argument.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q161380. The Library of Congress control number is sh85033865. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2018 and 2020.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
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- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Credit card”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Credit card primary sources, Credit card archive and Credit research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Credit card”?
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Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Credit card” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.