Which company introduced the first magnetic stripe credit card in 1970?

American Express introduced the first magnetic-stripe credit card in 1970. The breakthrough brought machine-readable payment data to a card format that had previously relied heavily on embossed numbers and manual processing.

American Express worked with IBM on an experimental self-service ticketing system at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. Passengers could use magnetic-stripe cards at kiosks to make reservations and purchases, demonstrating how stored account data could speed up transactions. The stripe itself was developed through IBM’s engineering work, so IBM is often mentioned in accounts of the technology’s origins.

The magnetic stripe stored encoded information that terminals could read electronically. That reduced reliance on carbon-paper imprinters and telephone authorization, although widespread adoption took time because merchants needed compatible equipment and issuers faced conversion costs.

A common mix-up is treating the first experiment as the same thing as universal rollout. American Express is credited here as the card company that introduced the pioneering 1970 application; IBM supplied crucial technical development and equipment.