The advent of revolving credit in the 1950s forever changed the landscape of American Commerce - dramatically.
Within a few years, forward-thinking members of the American Bankers Association (ABA) moved the revolving-credit concept into the banking arena with the development of the first bankcards in the 1960s.
Realizing both the potential of industry-wide benefits of forming a professional trade organization - as well as the grave potential pitfalls of not so doing - leading card-issuing banks commenced to form the National Credit Card Association in 1972 … the forerunner of today’s North American BankCard Association.
Once the need for and benefits of certain standardizations was progressively realized, the small initial membership of NABCA has grown throughout the years to its current count of over 13,000 members.
NABCA has served to be a strong and cohesive growing organization - not only for the good of members - but for the millions of clientele they serve, as well. That strength and cohesion has probably shown up no more forcefully than within lobbying bodies regularly at work in the halls of Congress in Washington - as well in the legislatures of each of the fifty states.