Important update: Stake UK will be closing down.
Read more here
When you invest, your capital is at risk.

Share

Dining In

The romantic and serendipitous story of the company that forged the way for billion-dollar companies Mastercard and Visa.

Mastercard and Visa. US$850b in market cap between them, built millions on credit card transactions daily. As successful as they have been, neither were initially innovators in the space. The first credit card was in fact Diners Club, a relic of the past today but a pioneer of the payments industry in its heyday.

33 West 33rd Street, New York City in 1949. Home to Major’s Cabin Grill, preferred steakhouse of marketing manager Frank McNamara. Out to dinner one evening, McNamara forgot his wallet at home. Embarrassed, he set out to create the first “general purpose charged card”. A universal IOU used at all venues: Diners Club.

That’s the romantic, serendipitous story the company’s PR team came up with anyway.

In reality, months of research and planning went into setting up the business. McNamara and his business partners Schneider and Bloomingdale went to scores of restaurants around Manhattan convincing them to accept delayed payments. Within a year, Diner’s Club had 42,000 members using their card at 330 venues. Merchants were paying a 7% fee. Credit had gone from something for those struggling to pay their bills, to something luxurious. Anyone with “a credit card can rent a plane or boat or car, live it up in nightclubs, take a safari to Africa” as TIME put it in 1958. Within 5 years, their membership had grown to 300,000.

Today, the company handles less than 1% of global transaction volume.


Want more?

You know what to do

Insights, trends and company deep dives delivered straight to your inbox.


Stake logo


Stake is the trading name of Hellostake Limited, a company registered in England and Wales (Company no. 11676409). Hellostake Limited is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority under the Firm Reference Number 830771. Registered address: 85 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 7LT, United Kingdom.

When you invest, your capital is at risk.

The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may receive back less than your original investment. Any advice is of a general nature only. As investments carry risk, before making any investment decision, please consider if it’s right for you and seek appropriate independent taxation and legal advice. The information on our website or our mobile application is not intended to be an inducement, offer or solicitation to anyone in any jurisdiction in which Stake is not regulated or able to market its services.

At Stake, we’re focused on giving you a better investing experience but we don’t take into account your personal objectives, circumstances or financial needs. Please view our Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy and Disclaimers before deciding to use or invest on Stake. By using the Stake website or service in any way, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions. All financial products involve risk and you should ensure you understand the risks involved as certain financial products may not be suitable to everyone. Past performance of any product described on this website is not a reliable indication of future performance

Copyright © 2024 Stake. All rights reserved.