One of only two prototypes of a cornerstone of the modern economy.

While credit cards for individual companies had been in use in the U.S. since the 1920s, it was only with the invention of the first Diners Club card, then the American Express and Bank of America (VISA) cards in the 1950s, that the idea of a universal credit card came into general use and acceptance. However, these raised letter cards required extensive customer service and substantial time to process. As the postwar American economy boomed, a new process was on the horizon—one that would transform everything from retail sales to personal banking and the very idea of personal consumer credit.