Clear 4 K footage of female hand using calculator customer handing credit card over and inserting imprinting paper with credit card underneath into old pre-digital credit card imprinter machine

Credit Cards in 1985 — The Plastic Revolution In 1985, credit cards were becoming a symbol of modern life. They were thicker, simpler, and far less digital than today. No chips. No contactless payments. Just embossed numbers, carbon copy slips, and a signature to seal the deal. Using a card meant waiting while a cashier ran it through a manual imprinter, leaving raised-number impressions on paper receipts. Fraud checks were slower, limits were lower, and approvals weren’t instant — but the idea