The proliferation of credit cards happened before the proliferation of the internet. How did credit cards work before the internet?

Question

The proliferation of credit cards happened before the proliferation of the internet. How did credit cards work before the internet?

In: 155

Answer 1

Early on a carbon copy was made with a “knuckle buster”. Credit cards had raised numbers on them that would get transferred in triplicate. You had to write the amount. Customer signed. Then one copy for the customer, one for the business and one was deposited at your bank. Later, electronic machines would utilize the phone lines and dial up a computer at the bank and make the transaction.