1950Reputable sourceWell documented
Credit Cards and Plastic Money
On the timeline · around 1950 · The Modern Age of Money
What happened
In 1950 Frank McNamara's Diners' Club introduced one of the first charge cards, letting members eat at restaurants and settle up later with a single monthly bill. Bank credit cards followed in the 1950s and 60s, and 'plastic' spread worldwide — money you could spend before you had it, tracked electronically rather than exchanged in cash.
Why it matters
Credit cards detached everyday spending from physical money and built the vast consumer-credit economy. They were an early step toward the electronic, cashless payments that dominate the world today.