Diners Club International
Diners Club International Ltd., founded as Diners Club, is a charge card company owned by Capital One. Formed in 1950 by Frank X. McNamara, Ralph Schneider, Matty Simmons, and Alfred S. Bloomingdale, it was the first independent payment card company in the world, successfully establishing the financial card service of issuing travel and entertainment credit cards as a viable business. Diners Club International and its franchises serve members globally, with acceptance in over 200 countries and territories. As of 2024–2025, the network includes more than 55 card issuers operating in approximately 45 countries.
History
The idea for Diners Club was conceived at the Majors Cabin Grill restaurant in New York City in 1949. Diners Club cofounder Frank McNamara was dining with clients and realized he had left his wallet in another suit. His wife paid the bill, and McNamara thought of a multipurpose charge card as a way to avoid similar embarrassments in the future.. He discussed the idea with the restaurant owner at the table, and the following day with his lawyer Ralph Schneider and friend Alfred S. Bloomingdale. McNamara returned to the same restaurant the following February, in 1950, and paid for his meal using a cardboard charge card and a signature. The story became well known. Diners Club official history refers to this meal as "The First Supper", and is credited by historians as the beginnings of contemporary credit. Various versions of the story differ about whether it was a lunch or dinner at which McNamara forgot his wallet, and whether the bill was paid on loan or McNamara waited for his wife to drive his wallet to him. According to Diners Club press agent Matty Simmons, that never happened and the story was invented. Some journalists later credited Alfred Bloomingdale with the idea for Diners Club.McNamara and his attorney, Ralph Schneider, founded Diners Club International on February 8, 1950, with $1.5 million in initial capital. Alfred Bloomingdale joined briefly, then started a competing venture in California before merging his California-based Dine and Sign with Diners Club. McNamara's original conception was to make a card that could be used as a means of payment in restaurants around New York City; however, he later expanded its usage to other types of establishments, including hotels, car rentals, and flower shops. The company started building its customer base by offering their cards to prominent businessmen. Shortly afterward, Matty Simmons, the company's first press agent, started advertising the card in newspapers, magazines, and by sending personal mail to potential customers. Diners Club International was named for being a "club of diners" that would allow patrons to settle their bill at the end of each month through their credit account. When the card was first introduced, Diners Club listed 27 participating restaurants, and 200 of the founders' friends and acquaintances used it.
Diners Club had 20,000 members by the end of 1950 and 42,000 by the end of 1951. At the time, the company was charging participating establishments 7% and billed cardholders $5 a year. In 1952, McNamara sold his interest in Diners Club to his partners for $200,000. The first plastic Diners Club card was introduced in 1961; by the mid-1960s, Diners Club had 1.3 million cardholders.
Towards the end of the 1960s, Diners Club faced competition from banks that issued revolving credit cards through Bank of America's BankAmericard, and Interbank Master Charge. Starting in 1968, the American Oil Company, or Amoco, also launched its own co-branded Diners Club cards called American Torch Club, and Sun Oil Company issued its version called Sun Diners Club Card starting in 1977.
In 1981, Citibank, a unit of Citicorp, bought Diners Club International, including the franchisor that holds rights to the Diners Club trademark. Despite this, a majority of the franchises abroad remain independently owned.
In April 2008, Discover Financial and Citigroup announced that Discover was purchasing the Diners Club International network from Citigroup for $165 million. In May 2008, the Federal Trade Commission approved the transaction and it was finalized on July 1, 2008.
Franchising
International franchise
In a transaction completed on July 1, 2008, Discover Financial Services purchased Diners Club International from Citibank for $165 million. The deal was announced in April 2008 and approved by the U.S. government in May 2008. By merging the North American Discover Network with the international Diners Club Network, Discover created a global payment processing system. Discover Bank has no plans to issue Diners Club-branded cards, which continue to be issued by Diners Club International licensees.In 2011, Discover started incorporating its logo on Diners Club International cards. Several payment processors, like PayPal, can process only new Diners Club International cards, which include the Discover logo, as well as BMO Bank's Diners Club-branded Mastercards issued in North America.
Argentina
In Argentina, Citibank entered into an agreement to transfer its rights and obligations to Banco Comafi. From December 16, 2013, until August 31, 2021, Banco Comafi S.A. managed the Diners Club credit card business in Argentina. After Banco Comafi closed the Diners Club Argentina business, all existing Diners Club Argentina credit cards were converted into Mastercard credit cards.Australia
In July 1974, Ansett Transport Industries purchased a 50% shareholding in the Australian franchise. In January 1999, Ansett sold its shareholding to Citigroup.On June 1, 2022, National Australia Bank bought Citigroup's Consumer Banking business in Australia, including the Australian branch of Diners Club.
The Diners Club Corporate Card, Citi Mastercard Corporate Executive Companion Card, Diners Club Business Card and the Citi Mastercard Business Companion Card previously marketed under the Citibank brand were brought under the National Australia Bank brand as a result of the acquisition.
On November 1, 2023, Diners Club Australia announced that it was ending personal cards on January 31, 2024, with no transactions possible after that date. Subsequently, it announced that all business and corporate cards were ending on April 15, 2024. All Diners Club accounts closed on September 16, 2024, effectively ending Diners Club's presence in the Australian market.
Brazil
On November 21, 2018, it was announced that Diners Club International and Brazilian card association Elo were extending their partnership: they launched Elo Diners Club International Cards in Brazil. The cards run via the Discover Global Network, and are accepted at 42 million merchant locations and 2 million ATMs in over 190 countries and territories.China and Hong Kong
In September 2017, Diners Club International signed a deal with Allinpay, a Chinese payment provider, to be the exclusive carrier of all the cards that are part of the Discover Global Network. Apart from that, Allinpay intended to increase the card acceptance in Hong Kong, especially by "travel oriented merchants".Chile
In Chile, the Diners Club franchise was long held by Citibank Chile until it was acquired by Banco de Chile in 2008, who then took over said franchise.Colombia
In Colombia, the first Diners Club franchise was opened in 1963. Nowadays, the Colombian franchisee and issuer of Diners Club cards is Banco Davivienda.Europe
Diners Club has franchises in some European countries, such as Austria, Germany, North Macedonia, Slovenia, Spain, and Switzerland for example. Those franchises generally only issue Diners Club cards to residents of their respective countries.However, since January 2025, ISX Financial has become a pan-European Diners Club franchisee, issuing the Diners Club debit card in several European markets.
India
Diners Club was the first to introduce credit cards in India. Kali Mody is credited with opening the first Diners franchise in the country in 1961, which started an invitation-only credit card issuance. Its cards have been offered by Citibank India, followed by HDFC Bank which took over in 2011.In 2021, the Reserve Bank of India barred the company from issuing new cards for failing to follow norms about storing data within the country. The ban was lifted later in the year after it complied with the RBI guidelines.