Inventor of credit cards dies at 88

THE man who millions of shoppers have to thank - or blame - for the state of their finances has died aged 88.

American bank executive Joseph Williams invented the forerunner to the modern-day Visa card in 1958, in the heady days of the US postwar consumer boom.

The Diners Club card already existed and allowed shoppers to make cashless transactions. But the balance had to be paid off in full within 30 days. Some banks offered credit on their bank cards, but these could not be used nationwide.

Williams saw a gap in the market for a card that could be used across the country, so he and his team at the Bank of America began distributing the BankAmerica card in California. in the next decade the card was licensed by other banks, before it was finally renamed the Visa card in 1970.

Since then, consumers have flashed the plastic in ever growing numbers. According to RAM Research in the US, there are 785m major credit cards in circulation in the country.

The average US credit card debt carried over each month per household last year was nearly $9,000 (£5,500), triple the average of $3,000 in 1990, the group says.

In Britain, the invasion of US credit providers in the 1990s, along with greater numbers of store cards and easier availability of credit from domestic lenders, has seen debt rise to record levels. The average UK household today owes more than £6,000 on credit and store cards.