MasterCard Origins

In 1966 a group of bankers from across the United States organized the Interbank Card Association (ICA) to establish credit card transaction procedures for their member institutions. ICA issued its first credit card for nationwide use in 1966.


In 1968 the ICA began to form partnerships overseas, beginning with Banco Nacional in Mexico, and then with institutions in Europe and Japan later that year.In 1973 ICA established the Interbank National Authorization System (INAS), a computer system that eliminated the need for merchants to place telephone calls to bank clerks to get authorization for transactions.


In 1974 the ICA introduced magnetic strips on its credit cards that contained encoded information about the cardholder’s account. By swiping the cards through electronic devices at the place of purchase, this information could be quickly read and transmitted to banks, enabling merchants to authorize transactions even more quickly.


Use of the Master Charge card increased during the mid-1970s, accounting for 60 percent of all credit card transactions worldwide by 1977.