2025-09-04

[public] 39.9K views, 2.38K likes, dislikes audio only

TED-Ed

Dig into the history of credit cards in the United States, and how they have evolved since the 1950s into the industry we know today.

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Today, credit cards are a $500 billion-a-year industry. Banks consider these lines of credit when deciding whether or not to approve loans, incentivizing customers to maintain multiple credit cards. So, how did this lending system originate? And how did they get to be so popular? Nidhi Upadhyaya digs into the history of credit cards in the United States.

Lesson by Nidhi Upadhyaya, directed by Jeff Le Bars, JetPropulsion.space.

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View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/a-brief-history-of-credit-cards-nidhi-upadhyaya

Dig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/a-brief-history-of-credit-cards-nidhi-upadhyaya/digdeeper

Animator's website: https://jetpropulsion.space

Music: https://www.campstudio.co

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