Diners
Template:Infobox AziendaDiners Club International, inizialmente fondata come Diners Club, è una compagnia di servizi finanziari fondata nel 1950 da Frank X. McNamara, Ralph Schneider e Casey R. Taylor. Quando venne messa in commercio, fu la prima carta di credito indipendente al mondo.
Fondazione
Molti negozi e attività davano credito ai propri clienti o permettevano loro di segnare le loro spese su un conto personale, ma l'idea del Diners Club era di utilizzare una stessa carta per pagare diversi acquisti. Nel 1950, la prima carta di credito Diners Club fu data a 200 associati di McNamara, per lo più addetti alle vendite che spesso dovevano portare a pranzo i loro clienti. Diners Club aveva concluso accordi con 14 ristoranti New York. Il numero di membri salì rapidamente dato che nuovi clienti richiesero la carta e nuovi ristoranti entravano a far parte del club. Alla fine del 1950, Diners Club aveva 20000 clienti e la carta era accettata in 1000 ristoranti. Nel 1952, McNamara vendette la sua quota a Joe Williams di Archer City, Texas, e la compagnia crebbe con la stessa intensità per parecchi anni, raggiungendo, alla fine, commercianti in tutti gli Stati Uniti. Diners Club created what would later be dubbed the Travel & Entertainment (T&E) card market, which focused on cardholders who were frequent travelers and had a substantial income to pay for other high-value charges. As these customers had no need to pay for purchases over time, these cards required that the entire balance of the bill was paid upon receipt. This type of account is known today as a charge card. Diners Club's monopoly was short-lived, however, as American Express and Carte Blanche began to compete with Diners Club in the T&E card market.
Diners Club also faced competition from banks who issued revolving credit cards though BankAmericard (later renamed VISA), and Interbank MasterCharge (later renamed MasterCard) towards the end of the 1960s. 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 MasterCharge networks abroad. Amoco gasoline also issued its own co-branded Diners Club cards for a time called, American Torch Club, as well as Sun Oil Company with its version called Sun Diners Club Card.
Diners Club International, the franchisor that holds rights to the Diners Club trademark, was acquired in 1981 by Citibank, a unit of Citigroup, as well as many of the largest franchises worldwide, although a majority of its franchises abroad remain independently owned.
L'alleanza con MasterCard
Nel 2004 Diners Club annunciò un accordo con MasterCard. Le nuove carte negli Stati Uniti e in Canada hanno il logo di MasterCard e il numero di conto a 16 cifre sul fronte della carta e possono esser utilizzate nei milioni di luoghi ove viene accettata MasterCard. Le carte di altri stati continuano ad avere il numero di conto a 14 cifre sul fronte e sul retro il logo di MasterCard
Carte Blanche
Carte Blanche originated as a Travel & Entertainment (T&E) card owned by Hilton Hotels, and competed with both American Express and Diners Club. The company changed ownership after being sold by Hilton, with Citibank owning the company for a brief period during the 1960s, and finally repurchasing it in 1979, and phasing the card out of service in the late 1980s. Throughout most of the 1960s and 1970s, the Carte Blanche card was considered to be a more prestigious worldwide travel and entertainment than American Express or Diners Club, though its small cardmember base hindered its success. Carte Blanche also was the first to implement a 'Gold Card' program[senza fonte], but initially only as a means to recognize cardholders who were frequent users and paid their bills on time. In 2000, the Carte Blanche name was revived in the United States when Diners Club, which was also acquired by Citibank in 1981, introduced an upscale version of its card: the Diners Club Carte Blanche Card. It is an upper-level charge card on par with the American Express Platinum card. The card carries a US$300 annual fee and offers an extensive menu of perks geared toward spendthrifty travelers. It is accepted wherever regular Diners Club cards are accepted. Although Diners Club requires payment in full within 30 days, corporate accounts can pay within 60 days without penalty.