Diners Club launched the first general-purpose charge card in 1950.
The idea emerged after businessman Frank McNamara forgot his wallet during a restaurant meal in New York City. With Ralph Schneider and Matty Simmons, he created a card that customers could use at participating restaurants and repay in full each month. The first Diners Club cards were made of cardboard and were accepted by a small network of New York establishments.
Diners Club was a charge-card system, not a modern revolving-credit card. Cardholders generally settled the full balance rather than carrying debt from month to month. The company earned revenue by charging participating merchants. American Express later became a major competitor, while Visa and Mastercard helped popularize bank-issued revolving credit cards. Diners Club therefore occupies an important early place in the history of payment cards, even though its original business model differed from the credit cards most consumers use today.