Diners Club International

The year was 1949 when a simple, relatable moment of forgetfulness sparked a financial revolution. Frank McNamara, a businessman, was dining out when he realized he had left his wallet at home. This embarrassing situation led McNamara, along with his lawyer Ralph Schneider, to create a solution. They, along with Matty Simmons and Alfred Bloomingdale, founded Diners Club International in 1950. The concept was a multipurpose charge card. It started with 200 members and acceptance at 14 New York restaurants. By the end of 1951, membership grew to 42,000. The idea quickly expanded, and by 1953, Diners Club became the first internationally accepted charge card. Over the decades, Diners Club continued to innovate, introducing the first corporate card program and the first rewards program. The company's journey included a significant acquisition in 1981 when Citibank purchased Diners Club International. Another major event occurred in 2008 when Discover Financial Services acquired the company from Citibank for $165 million, a move that created a global payments network by merging Discover's North American reach with Diners Club's international presence.