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A love letter, but with 18% interest

Broadcast Date: Sept. 28, 1968

A hand-delivered gold envelope from the bank signalled Joan Barberis's ascension to the privileged few Canadians to carry a Chargex credit card. And as an unsolicited invitation, this was no less than recognition of her elite status and financial responsibility ... a veritable lover letter from the bank. But as this 1968 commentary reveals, this love letter carried more fine print, rules and restrictions that you might expect, and she quickly concludes that if this is love, she can do without it.

A love letter, but with 18% interest

• The Chargex card first appeared in Canada in 1968, just months before this broadcast. In 1977, the card was re-branded as Visa, although the cards were labelled "Chargex Visa," to retain the high recognition factor of the Chargex name.

• As of November 2008, there were 64.1 million credit cards in use in Canada, amounting to approximately two cards for every Canadian adult.

• The world record for most credit cards belongs to California resident Walter Cavanagh (also known as "Mr. Plastic Fantastic"), who had 790 cards at the time of this 1969 broadcast. He still held the record as of 2005, although his collection had grown to 1,497 cards. His collection gave him a total $1.7 million line of credit and his world record-setting wallet weighs about 17 kilograms and holds 800 cards.

A love letter, but with 18% interest

Medium: Radio

Program: Saturday A.M.

Broadcast Date: Sept. 28, 1968

Commentator: Joan Barberis
Host: Pat Patterson, Bill Paul

Duration: 7:20

Last updated:
Feb. 6, 2009