In 2018, there were 1.12 billion credit cards in circulation in the U.S., and 72% of adults had at least one credit card.
Credit card transactions involve a third-party entity that pays the merchant and is reimbursed by the buyer (with interest). And there are two groups of credit cards, they are consumer credit cards and business credit cards.
Before the computerization of credit card systems in America, using a credit card to pay at a merchant was significantly more complicated than it is today.
Each time a consumer wanted to use a credit card, the merchant would have to call their bank, which then calls the credit card company, which then had to have an employee manually look up the customer’s name and credit balance.
This system was computerized in 1973 under the leadership of Dee Hock, the first CEO of Visa, allowing transaction time to decrease substantially to less than a minute.
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It is important to note that a credit card is different from a debit card and a charge card in many ways. While a credit card involves a third-party entity that pays the merchant and is reimbursed by the buyer (with interest), a charge card simply defers payment by the buyer until a later date.
Since Visa pioneered the early computerization of credit card processes, innovation in the space has continued to reach new heights.
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And below are 8 Top Credit Card Startups introducing unique features in the credit card industry:
- TomoCredit
- Ramp
- Klar
- Lendtable
- HappyPal
- Enkash
- Extend
- PayAccept
1. TOMOCREDIT
This is a US-based financial technology startup that issues smart consumer credit cards without credit scores. They provide financial support for young adults, students, and immigrants in order to build a better U.S.
TomoCredit tends to examine a customer’s account balance and reviews a person’s financial responsibility, and individual circumstances and takes into account alternative metrics to determine their creditworthiness.
The company was founded in 2018 and is located in San Francisco, US.
2. RAMP
Ramp is a technology company that designs and develops corporate credit cards for the purpose of saving money for businesses. They are into accounting, Credit Cards, Enterprise Software, Financial Technology, and Financial Services.
The company was founded by Eric Glyman, Gene Lee, and Karim Atiyeh and is Headquartered in New York, New York, United States
3. KLAR
Klar is a Financial Technology company that is Headquartered in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico. It provides banking services for mostly Mexican customers.
They provide services such as Banking, Mobile Apps, Software, Credit Cards, Debit Cards, FinTech, Finance, and other Financial Services.
It was founded by Daniel Autrique, Gianluigi Davassi, Jeronimo Riefkohl, and Stefan Moller.
4. LENDTABLE
Lendtable provides income-constrained individuals with wealth-building cash advances. Its platform looks to fight inequality in people’s financial lives by providing long-term wealth for retirement.
Their services include Credit Cards, Finance, Financial Services, FinTech, Personal Finance, and Wealth Management.
It was founded by Mitchell Jones and Sheridan Clayborne in January 2020. The headquarters is in San Francisco, California, United States.
5. HAPPYPAL
HappyPal reinvents employee perks with a SaaS and Payment solution. This French-based company provides a digital platform that enables you to personalize and access employee benefits.
Credit Cards, Employee Benefits, FinTech, Gift Card, Human Resources, Payments, and SaaS, among others, are their specialties.
Founded by Alyssa Emmungil and Rim Zerhouni in 2019, it is headquartered in Paris, Ile-de-France, France.
6. ENKASH
Enkash is an Indian startup that issues corporate cards and provides a payment platform for its customers.
Its various corporate cards allow companies to manage purchases, utility bills, and tax payments. They make management of travel, entertainment, and digital marketing, easier.
The company makes use of artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) to build algorithms that present more control of the financial processes of businesses.
It was founded in 2017 and is located in Mumbai, India.
7. EXTEND
This is a US-based startup, Extend, that offers a digital credit card distribution platform for banks, fintech, businesses, and individuals.
The startup combines major networks and processors, including global payments, MasterCard, and Visa, to build a platform that supports product development. This allows card issuers to increase their product offerings.
Extend also provides application programming interfaces (APIs) for businesses and fintech companies to use their virtual credit cards to enhance financial products and payment operations.
The company was founded in 2017 and is located in New York, US
8. PAYACCEPT
PayAccept is a credit card startup as well as a Blockchain technology company that combines traditional and Decentralized Finance (DeFi) to grant its customers access to cryptocurrency, issuance of cards, and risk management services.
They are into Banking, Credit Cards, Financial Exchanges, FinTech, and other financial services.
It was founded by Christian Steenbergen in 2020 with the headquarters in Eindhoven, Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands.
