The Shape that Credit Cards Are In

Tired of jamming those "big" [3 3/8 in. x 2 18 in.] credit cards into your purse or billfold? Do not despair. Help is on the way. Bank of America is offering one million of its Visa credit cardholders a "mini-card" that is one-half the size of current credit cards. According to Carrick Mollenkamp's article in the Wall Street Journal, the bank expects to offer the mini-card to all of its cardholders next year. The competition among card issuers is intense, since it has been estimated that Americans already carry an average of about eight cards. Further, card issuers sent out about five billion solicitations last year. One handicap: they are too small to be used in ATMs and pay-at-the pump gas stations that require the cardholder to slip them into a slot. However, Bank of America worked with Visa for seven months to be sure that most merchants could effectively use the card. One outcome of the study was to give the bank an exclusive right to issue the mini-card for a year. After that time, other banks may issue the Visa mini-card, but will have to pay Visa and Bank of America a fee for the privilege.