A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder’s accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the other agreed charges).[1] The card issuer (usually a bank) creates a revolving account and grants a line of credit to the cardholder, from which the cardholder can borrow money for payment to a merchant or as a cash advance.

A credit card is different from a charge card, which requires the balance to be repaid in full each month or at the end of each statement cycle.[2] In contrast, credit cards allow the consumers to build a continuing balance of debt, subject to interest being charged. A credit card differs from a charge card also in that a credit card typically involves a third-party entity that pays the seller and is reimbursed by the buyer, whereas a charge card simply defers payment by the buyer until a later date.

A credit card also differs from a cash card, which can be used like currency by the owner of the card.

In 2019, there were 1.5 billion credit cards in circulation in the U.S.