Barclaycard marks 45 years of credit cards in the UK

45 years ago today Barclaycard introduced the UK’s first credit card which revolutionised how we pay, making it easier and more convenient. Since then, credit cards have grown significantly in popularity and today Barclaycards are used 32,760 times an hour.

The year after the first credit cards became available, Sixties actor Reg Varney used a Barclaycard at the UK’s first cash point at Barclays bank in Enfield. Within a year, Barclaycard had attracted a million customers. Today the figure is 11.2 million of a total of 31.2 million (UK Cards Association, 2010) credit cardholders in the UK.

Back in 1966, Barclaycard’s aim was to ‘make shopping easier’ and with the credit card nearing its half century, the company continues to innovate to find new ways of delivering this vision as technology evolves.

Barclaycard was the first credit provider to go online in 1995 and since then, online account management has increased in popularity so much that last year 717 million card transactions were processed online, totaling £47.2 billion (UK Cards Association, 2010). More recently, Barclaycard has led on the introduction of contactless cards, which it began issuing alongside Barclays retail bank in 2007.

Contactless mobile payments is just the latest first for Barclaycard. This year saw Barclaycard introduce contactless mobile payments in the UK, in partnership with Orange, changing the way we pay again. Customers can now buy goods of £15 or under, with a simple tap of their phone at over 50,000 stores across the UK.

It took 38 years from the first credit card (a Barclaycard) to launch in the UK for spending on plastic cards to overtake cash. Last year 2 billion credit card transactions were made to the tune of £136 billion (UK Cards Association, 2010).

David Chan, CEO of Barclaycard Consumer Europe, says of today’s anniversary:

“Our aim is the same today as it was in 1966, which is to make consumers’ lives easier. The introduction of the UK’s first contactless mobile phone during our 45^th year is just the latest in a long line of innovations from Barclaycard which have revolutionized the way we pay. We remain committed to bringing our customers many more firsts long into the future.”

The birthday highlights the development of Barclaycard as a business, which opened its first offices in 1966 in an old shoe factory in Northampton when England were still a month away from winning the World Cup, Alfie was the box office hit, and a pint would set you back just two bob (or 10p).

Key facts from 29th June 1966

• Biggest news story was that Barclaycard had launched
• Number one single was Paperback Writer – The Beatles
• Number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack
• Top rated TV Show was Love Story (ATV)
• The Box office smash hit was Alfie
• A pound in 1966 would be worth £11.26 today

Key Statistics

• Barclaycard launched the first UK credit card on 29^th June, 1966.
• Barclaycard’s first office was in Northampton in an old shoe factory – the town’s original key industry of which today Church’s shoes is one of the few survivors.
• Barclaycard had one million customers in its first year, today the number of adults with a credit or charge card is 31.2 million, representing 64% of the adult population.
• Altogether there are over 55 million credit cards in issue in the UK.
• It took 38 years from the first credit card (a Barclaycard) to launch in the UK for spending on plastic cards to overtake cash. Last year 2 billion transactions were made to the tune of £165 billion.
• Barclaycard Germany launched in 1991
• Barclaycard was the first to issue contactless credit cards in the UK, cutting queuing times by a third, today it is still the leading issuer with over 11 million in the UK market.
• Barclaycard was the first UK card provider to introduce contactless mobile payments in Britain in 2011.
• Last year 2 billion transactions were made to the tune of £165 billion on credit cards in Britain.
• 32,760 of transactions are made on Barclaycards every hour.