10 Credit Card Facts That Will Blow Your Mind

1. The first general credit cards were made from paper and had a limit of $300.
   
   
2. The reason credit cards expire is because the magnetic strip gets a lot of damage and needs to be replaced. A magnetic strip is good for about 3-4 years of swiping.
   
   
3. Even as far back as the 1800s, merchants and consumers traded goods through the concept of credit. Both credit coins and charge plates were used as currency.
   
   
4. Credit cards are used more than 20 billion times in one year just in the U.S.
   
   
5. Women are more likely than men to be charged a late fee, pay the minimum payment, and carry a credit card balance.
   
   
6. All credit cards everywhere are the same size: 85.60 mm x 53.98 mm.
   
   
7. The inventor of the first bank-issued credit card was John Briggs, a banker from the Flatbush National Bank of New York.
   
   
8. Cards that start with 34 or 37 are American Express. VISA cards start with a 4. MasterCards start with numbers from 51 through 55. Discover Cards start with 6011.
   
   
9. Credit card numbers use an algorithm that makes the numbers evenly divisible by 10. If it doesn’t, the credit card is not valid.
   
   
10. A gas pump will authorize a gas purchase for $50. So if someone has less than $50 available on his or her card, the pump will reject the card. 

Sources: http://facts.randomhistory.com/credit-card-facts.html

http://mentalfloss.com/article/62091/12-fun-facts-about-money