Credit cards are a useful financial tool that can provide you instant access to funds. Used the right way, they can also help you earn rewards and build your credit score. Here are some surprising and fun facts about credit cards that you may not have known:
Valid Credit Card Numbers Are Divisible by 10
Credit card numbers, if they are valid, follow the Luhn algorithm. This means, if you double every alternate digit starting from the right and then add the resulting digits, you should be able to come up with a number that is divisible by 10.
Your Credit Card Account Doesn’t Expire, Even Though Your Card Does
Your credit card company is likely to send you a new credit card before the one you currently have expires. But, do you know why credit cards expire? The first reason is that your card can only physically last in a usable condition for between three and four years. All the dipping and swiping will likely make your card fall apart around the time of its expiry. The other reason is that the expiration offers some level of protection against risks such as identity theft.
Credit Cards Were Used in The 19th Century by Farming Communities
Before they existed in the form they currently do, farmers would use “credit cards”, which were extended to them by local stores. They would need to use credit since their income was seasonal. The credit card that was issued was made of cardboard and helped the store owner understand the type of account a customer was associated with.
Single Women Were Not Allowed to Get Credit Cards until 1974
Until the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, 1974, was passed, women weren’t allowed to get a credit card unless they had a husband who would co-sign the card.
Over 10,000 Credit Card Transactions Happen Worldwide Every Minute
Think you use your card too much? The American Bankers Association (in March 2009) estimated that around 10,000 credit card transactions happened every second worldwide. This number is only likely to have increased.
A majority of Americans have at least one credit card. These facts may just make you think differently about the plastic in your wallet!