Financial Firsts

Our financial lives have evolved for centuries, and new technology has quickened the pace of change. Test your knowledge of some historic financial innovations with this quiz.

1. What was the first credit card introduced into widespread use?
MasterCharge (now MasterCard)
Diner's Club
American Express
2. Which company introduced the concept of limited liability for shareholders?
Ford Motors
The East India Trading Company
Sony
3. The printed check was first used in which country?
The United Kingdom
China
The United States
4. When did the United States begin issuing paper currency?
1785
1861
1907
5. When did the first cash machine (the precursor of today's automated teller machine) begin operation?
1957
1967
1977
6. Which country pioneered the concept of the interest-bearing municipal bond?
Germany
France
Italy
7. True or false: The National Cash Register company developed the first cash register.
True
False
8. Which financial institution was the first to offer online banking to its customers?
Wells Fargo
Chemical Bank
Stanford Federal Credit Union
9. Where was the world’s first mobile payment made?
London
Helsinki, Finland
New York
10. Credit reporting has been around in various forms for more than a century. But when were consumers first allowed to obtain a free annual copy of their own credit history?
1983
1993
2003