Diners Club International

Diners Club
Subsidiary of Discover Financial
Industry Finance
Founded 1950 (1950)
Founder Frank X. McNamara
Ralph Schneider
Matty Simmons
Alfred Bloomingdale
Headquarters Riverwoods, Illinois, United States
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 Eduardo Tobon
(President & CEO)[1]
Products Charge and Credit cards
Parent Discover Financial
Website www.dinersclub.com

Diners Club International (DCI), founded as Diners Club, is a charge card company formed in 1950 by Frank X. McNamara, Ralph Schneider, Matty Simmons, and Alfred Bloomingdale. It was the first independent credit card company in the world, and it established the concept of a self-sufficient company producing credit cards for travel and entertainment.[2] Diners Club International and its franchises service individuals from around the globe with operations in 59 countries.[3]

Origins

Diners Club Card issued in Japan, 2016

The idea for Diners Club was conceived at the Majors Cabin Grill restaurant in New York City in 1949.[4] Diners Club cofounder Frank McNamara was dining with clients and realized he had left his wallet in another suit.[5] His wife paid the tab, and McNamara thought of a multipurpose charge card as a way to avoid similar embarrassments in the future.[6] He discussed the idea with the restaurant owner at the table,[7] and the following day with his lawyer Ralph Schneider and friend Alfred Bloomingdale.[7]

McNamara returned to the same restaurant the following February, in 1950, and paid for his meal using a cardboard charge card and a signature.[8][9] The story became well-known,[6][10] Diners Club official history referring to this meal as "The First Supper" even though, as stated following, some disputed accounts refer to it actually having been a lunch, and is credited by historians as the beginnings of contemporary credit.[11] Various versions of the story differ about whether it was a lunch or dinner at which McNamara forgot his wallet,[6] and whether the bill was paid on loan or McNamara waited for his wife to drive his wallet to him.[12][13] Some journalists later credited Alfred Bloomingdale with the idea for Diners Club.[6]

McNamara and his attorney, Ralph Schneider, founded Diners Club International on February 8, 1950,[14] with $1.5 million in initial capital.[6] Alfred Bloomingdale joined briefly, then started a competing venture in California before merging his California-based Dine and Sign with Diners Club.[10] Diners Club International was named for being a "club of diners" that would allow patrons to settle their bill at the end of each month through their credit account.[15] When the card was first introduced, Diners Club listed 27 participating restaurants, and 200 of the founders's friends and acquaintances used it.[15]

Diners Club had 20,000 members by the end of 1950[16] and 42,000 by the end of 1951.[17] At the time, the company was charging participating establishments seven percent and billed cardholders $5 a year.[18] In 1952, McNamara sold his interest in Diners Club to his partners for $200,000.[19]

The first plastic Diners Club card was introduced in 1961;[20] by the mid-1960s, Diners Club had 1.3 million cardholders.[21]

Diners Club International was acquired by Citigroup in 1981[22] and by Discover Financial Services in April 2008.[23]

History

Diners Club's monopoly was short-lived, as American Express and Carte Blanche (which later partnered with Diners Club) began to compete with Diners Club in the travel and entertainment (T&E) card market. American Express now dominates the "member card" arena, providing millions of customers with cards that require the monthly balance to be paid in full.

Towards the end of the 1960s, Diners Club also faced competition from banks that issued revolving credit cards through Bank of America's BankAmericard (later renamed Visa), and Interbank Master Charge (later renamed MasterCard). Diners Club began early on to allow franchises of the Diners Club name, at first in Europe and later throughout the world, for many years eclipsing the BankAmericard or Interbank Master Charge networks abroad. Starting in 1968, the American Oil Company, better known publicly as Amoco, also issued, for a time, its own co-branded Diners Club cards called American Torch Club[24] (later renamed Amoco Torch Club), and Sun Oil Company issued its version called Sun Diner Club Card starting in 1977.[25]

In 1981, Citibank, a unit of Citigroup, acquired Diners Club International, the franchisor that holds rights to the Diners Club trademark, and many of the largest franchises worldwide. A majority of the franchises abroad remain independently owned.

Franchising

International franchise

In a transaction completed July 1, 2008, Discover Financial Services purchased Diners Club International from Citibank for $165 million.[26] The deal was announced in April 2008 and approved by the U.S. government in May 2008. By merging the North American Discover Network with the international Diners Club Network, Discover created a global payment processing system. Discover Bank has no plans to issue Diners Club-branded cards, which continue to be issued by Diners Club International licensees.

In 2011, Discover began putting its logo on Diners Club cards. Some payment processors, like PayPal, can process only new Diners Club cards, bearing the Discover logo.

North American franchise

MasterCard alliance

In 2004, Diners Club announced an agreement with MasterCard. Diners Club cards issued in the United States and Canada then featured a MasterCard logo and 16-digit account number on the front, and could be used wherever MasterCards were accepted. Cards from other countries continued to bear a 14-digit account number on the front, with the MasterCard logo on the back. However, since the takeover of Diners Club International by Discover Financial Services, these cards have had the Discover logo on the back.

Carte Blanche

Carte Blanche began in 1958 when the Hilton Hotels travel & entertainment card was renamed. Hilton sold Carte Blanche to First National City Bank in 1966. Regulatory challenges forced First National City Bank to sell Carte Blanche to Avco in 1968. In 1978, Citicorp (parent company of First National City Bank which was renamed Citibank) reacquired Carte Blanche without regulatory opposition.[27][28] The 1960s- and 1970s-era Carte Blanche cards were considered more prestigious worldwide than their competition, the American Express and Diners Club cards, though its small cardmember base hindered its success. Carte Blanche was the first to implement a "Gold Card" program, as a means to recognize cardholders who were frequent users and paid their bills on time. In 1981, Citicorp acquired the Diners Club card, and by the mid-1990s the Carte Blanche card was being phased out in favor of Diners Club. Parent company Citigroup (also known as "Citi") was formed in 1998 with the merger of Citicorp and the Travelers Group. Citi issued a premium Diners Club card in 2000, naming it the Diners Club Carte Blanche card. It was an upper-level charge card on par with the American Express Platinum Card. The card carries a US$300 annual fee as of April 2015 and offers an extensive menu of perks.[29] Diners Club requires payment from individual cardholders in full within 30 days; corporate accounts can pay within 60 days without penalty. By 2005, the classic Carte Blanche card had been phased out, and only the Diners Club Carte Blanche card remained.

enRoute

Diners Club expanded its customer base in Canada by acquiring the enRoute credit card from Air Canada in 1992. It marketed the card under the combined name for a period of time as the "Diners Club/enRoute Card".[30] The enRoute business was valued at over $300 million at the time of acquisition. Diners Club remains a minor player in Canada.

Acquisition by BMO

In November 2009, Citibank announced that Diners Club International's North American franchise has been sold to Bank of Montreal (BMO). The deal gives BMO exclusive rights to issue Diners cards in the U.S. and Canada. At the time, BMO said the Diners Club fits well with its existing commercial card business, adding that commercial cards are one of the fastest growing segments in the credit card business.[31]

Russia

In December 2010, Russian Standard Bank and Diners Club International entered into an agreement for settlement of transactions in Russia. Under the agreement, Russian Standard Bank will process settlement transactions of other banks acting as acquirers of Diners Club in Russia.[32]

Switzerland and Germany franchise

In a transaction that closed on August 6, 2010, Citibank sold the Switzerland and Germany franchises to a private investment group headed by Anthony J. Helbling.[33]

United Kingdom and Ireland franchise

On August 7, 2012, Citigroup, Inc. announced the sale of its Diners Club franchise in the United Kingdom and Ireland to Affiniture Cards Ltd., a private investor group.[34]

Slovenian scandal

In 2013, Tomaž Lovše, who owned Diners Club Slovenia, was one of three people investigated in Slovenia regarding unpaid debts that his franchise owed to merchants.[35] In May, the Central Bank of Slovenia revoked Diners Club Slovenia's license for payment services, which meant 80,000 local members could not use their card.[36][37] Diners Club International transferred the franchise to a subsidiary of Austria's Erste Bank group, Erste Card Club, and agreed to repay the franchise's debt to merchants.[35][38] An Erste press release in August 2013 stated that Diners Club services were once again available in Slovenia.[39]

In 1963, the film The Man from the Diner's Club was released,[40] and the Ideal Toy Company created the board gamed titled The Diners' Club Credit Card Game.[41][42]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Believe Belong Blog". Diners Club International. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Diners Club Review". CasinosBanking. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
  3. ↑ "Diners Club: Local Sites". Diners Club International.
  4. ↑ Klaffke, Pamela (1 October 2003). Spree: A Cultural History of Shopping. Arsenal Pulp Press. pp. 22–24. ISBN 978-1-55152-143-5. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  5. ↑ Beauchamp, Marc J. (June 2003). How to Survive & Thrive in the Merchant Services Industry. Survive & Thrive. pp. 37–38. ISBN 978-0-9741884-0-9. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Evans, David Sparks & Schmalensee, Richard (2005). Paying With Plastic: The Digital Revolution In Buying And Borrowing. MIT Press. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-262-55058-1. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  7. 1 2 Levine, Jonathan (2008). Credit where it is Due: A Social History of Consumer Credit in America. ProQuest. pp. 184–205. ISBN 978-0-549-81953-0. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  8. ↑ Bear, David (November 19, 2006). "Who Deserves the Credit for Credit Cards?". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  9. ↑ Liberman, Sherri (31 August 2011). American Food by the Decades. ABC-CLIO. pp. 131–132. ISBN 978-0-313-37698-6. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  10. 1 2 Schnaars, Steven P. (April 29, 2002). Managing Imitation Strategies. Simon and Schuster. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-7432-4265-3. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  11. ↑ Hyman, Louis (January 12, 2011). Debtor Nation: The History of America in Red Ink. Princeton University Press. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-691-14068-1. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  12. ↑ Steinberg, Neil (March 13, 2000). "The Card that Started it All". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 6.
  13. ↑ Sobey, Edwin J. C. (1 March 1999). Young Inventors at Work!: Learning Science by Doing Science. Good Year Books. p. 100. ISBN 978-0-673-57735-1. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  14. ↑ Roberts, Bryan & Berg, Natalie (3 April 2012). Walmart: Key Insights and Practical Lessons from the World's Largest Retailer. Kogan Page Publishers. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-7494-6274-1. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  15. 1 2 St. Clair, Michael (August 31, 2011). So Much, So Fast, So Little Time: Coming to Terms with Rapid Change and Its Consequences. ABC-CLIO. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-313-39276-4. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  16. ↑ Lindop, Edmund & De Capua, Sarah (September 1, 2009). America in the 1950s. Twenty-First Century Books. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-8225-7642-6. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  17. ↑ Gordon, Marcy (March 8, 2000). "Credit Card at 50". Gainesville Sun. Associated Press. p. 5B. Retrieved February 8, 2013 – via Google News.
  18. ↑ Boyle, Hal (December 15, 1951). "How to get a $1,000,000 Idea". Lewiston Evening Journal. Associated Press. p. 4. Retrieved January 7, 2013 – via Google News.
  19. ↑ Holper, Paul & Torok, Simon (2008). Inventing Millions. Orient Paperbacks. pp. 57–58. ISBN 978-81-222-0458-2. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Diners Club History". Kommersant Money. December 13, 2010. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  21. ↑ Voorhees, Donald A. (October 1, 2004). Why Do Donuts Have Holes?: Fascinating Facts About What We Eat And Drink. Citadel Press. p. 209. ISBN 978-0-8065-2551-8. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
  22. ↑ Rome Levine, Daniel (June 20, 2005). "Credit card pact props up Diners". Crain's.
  23. ↑ Stempel, Jonathan (April 7, 2008). "Discover to buy Citigroup's Diners Club". Reuters. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  24. ↑ Edmands, Michael J. (September 16, 1968). "Raising the Cuff; Credit Card Plans Are Growing More Numerous, Profitable". Barron's. p. 11. Last Monday, the flood of U.S. mail was swelled by over 12 million letters from American Oil Co., informing its credit customers of a chance to get in on the ground floor of the brand-new American Torch Club. By enrolling in the group, Amoco's present clientels will enjoy the charge privileges of the 275,000 establishments all around the globe which honor the cards of the Diners' Club. Link via ProQuest.
  25. ↑ "Majors Seek Ways to Cut Credit Card Costs to Zero". National Petroleum News. 69 (6). June 1977. p. 49. Sunmark is offering a new Sun/Diners Club credit card to its customers with an annual membership fee of $17. Link via ProQuest.
  26. ↑ "Discover Financial Services Completes Diners Club Acquisition" (Press release). Diners Club International. July 1, 2008.
  27. ↑ "Justice Won't Fight Carte Blanche Buy". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. 3 April 1978. p. 21. Retrieved 14 April 2014 – via Google News Archive.
  28. ↑ "Carte Blanche Credit Cards". Montreal Gazette. 15 November 1958. p. 37. Retrieved 14 April 2014 – via Google News Archive.
  29. ↑ "Carte Blanche". Diners Club International.
  30. ↑ "Air Canada Sells Credit Card Unit New York Times". New York Times. March 27, 1992.
  31. ↑ BMO to buy Diners Club franchise (requires subscription) Archived November 27, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  32. ↑ "Diners Club International Chooses JSC Russian Standard Bank as the Core Settlement Bank of Diners Club Russia for Operations in Russia" (Press release). Russian Standard Bank. December 16, 2010.
  33. ↑ "Diners Club Press Release Transition of DC Switzerland and DC Germany to New Ownership" (Press release). Diners Club International.
  34. ↑ "Citi Sheds Diners Club UK Ireland Biz". Community.nasdaq.com. August 7, 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  35. 1 2 "Judge Orders Detention for Financial Magnate". STA. September 8, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  36. ↑ "Central Bank Bans Services by Diners Club". The Slovenia Times. May 17, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
  37. ↑ "Diners Club One Step Closer to Reclaiming Licence". The Slovenia Times. July 5, 2013. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  38. ↑ "Erste Card Club Collecting Diners Claims". The Slovenia Times. July 23, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
  39. ↑ "Diners club services enabled again in Slovenia" (PDF) (Press release). Erste Bank. August 29, 2013.
  40. ↑ Crowther, Bosley (April 18, 1963). "The Screen: A Slapstick:Kaye in 'The Man From the Diners' Club'". The New York Times.
  41. ↑ Hinckley, Jim & Robinson, Jon G. (October 6, 2005). The Big Book of Car Culture: The Armchair Guide to Automotive Americana. MotorBooks International. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-7603-1965-9. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
  42. ↑ Goodman, Douglas J. & Cohen, Mirelle (2004). Consumer Culture: A Reference Handbook. ABC-CLIO. pp. 156–157. ISBN 978-1-57607-975-1. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
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