Credit cards, first introduced in the United States in the mid-20th century, have transformed the way people spend and borrow money. Before credit cards, department stores and oil companies issued charge cards, but these were limited to specific merchants. In 1950, the Diners Club card was one of the first widely accepted charge cards, designed originally for restaurants. A decade later, banks like Bank of America launched general-purpose credit cards, which allowed people to purchase goods at many different stores and pay later. Today, credit cards are not just payment tools — they come with complex features such as revolving balances, interest rates, credit limits, and rewards programs. They’ve also become central to how people build and maintain credit histories, which affect everything from mortgages to car loans. While credit cards can be extremely useful for managing cash flow and earning perks, they also carry risks if balances are not paid on time. Interest charges and fees can accumulate quickly. To kick off our quiz, let’s start with something straightforward: what exactly is a credit card, and how is it different from other forms of payment?