Credit card facts for kids

An example of the front in a typical credit card:

1. Issuing Bank Logo
2. EMV chip (only on "smart cards")
3. Hologram
4. Card number
5. Card Network Logo
6. Expiration Date
7. Card Holder Name
8. Contactless Chip

An example of the reverse side of a typical credit card:

1. Magnetic Stripe
2. Signature Strip
3. Card Security Code

A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services, based on the cardholder's promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts so paid plus other agreed charges. The card issuer (usually a bank) creates a revolving account and grants a line of credit to the cardholder, from which the cardholder can borrow money for payment to a merchant or as a cash advance.

It is a card which allows people to buy items without cash. When they buy something, a sales clerk uses it to charge the money needed to their bank account, so the person will pay later. They are buying it on credit, which is the trust that they will pay it back later.

If a person does not pay within a limit (usually a month) they will have to pay extra money, called interest.

Images for kids

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  Metal signs at a plant nursery in Los Angeles County, California marketing Mastercharge and Bankamericard

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  Receipt from 1997 - card physically swiped and information imprinted on the receipt

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  Visa, MasterCard, American Express are card-issuing entities that set transaction terms for merchants, card-issuing banks, and acquiring banks.

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  An example of street markets accepting credit cards. Most simply display the acceptance marks (stylized logos, shown in the upper-left corner of the sign) of all the cards they accept.

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  Acceptance mark at an automated teller machine