Leave the 'plastic' alone

THERE WAS a time not so long ago when merchants were never asked whether they took "plastic." That was because credit cards used to be made of metal. They also used to be much less common than they are now. As recently as 1970 only about 16 percent of US households used credit cards, and only about 800,000 retail establishments ... (Full article: 735 words)

This article is available in our archives:

Globe Subscribers

FREE for subscribers

Subscribers to the Boston Globe get unlimited access to our archives.

Not a subscriber?

Non-Subscribers

Purchase an electronic copy of the full article. Learn More

• $9.95 1 month archives pass
• $24.95 3 months archives pass
• $74.95 1 year archives pass