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

They worked over phone lines in the 80 and 90s.

Before that in the 70s and some of the 80s they would put your card in a device that would have carbon paper in it. The credit card had raised numbers and name info. They would slide the carbon paper over the card which would make a copy that the store would then send to the company for reimbursement. They would then charge the customer.