From the simple cards made of cardboard to high-tech plastic cards with microchips and displays to transactions through Twitter. The development of cashless payment methods has in the past 3-5 years made a fast acceleration and a host of new players have made their apperance on a market that was previously exclusive to banks and major credit card companies.

In this essay we will examine a range of issus related to the credit industry and how it since the 60´s has evolved into they are today. Our goal is to offer answers to questions such as: How did the credit cards arise, how have they eveloved and what is the future of the traditional companies? What security is needed today and what can we look forward to with tomorrow´s solutions?

How can current and future cashless payment solutions ease, streamline and secure transactions for consumers and payess?