[6] Diners Club cofounder Frank McNamara was dining with clients and realized he had left his wallet in another suit.

[7] His wife paid the bill, and McNamara thought of a multipurpose charge card as a way to avoid similar embarrassments in the future.

[8] He discussed the idea with the restaurant owner at the table,[9] and the following day with his lawyer Ralph Schneider and friend Alfred S.

[8] McNamara and his attorney, Ralph Schneider, founded Diners Club International on February 8, 1950,[16] with $1.5 million in initial capital.

[8] Alfred Bloomingdale joined briefly, then started a competing venture in California before merging his California-based Dine and Sign with Diners Club.

[12] McNamara's original conception was to make a card that could be used as a means of payment in restaurants around New York City; however, he later expanded its usage to other types of establishments, including hotels, car rentals, and flower shops.

Shortly afterward, Matty Simmons, the company's first press agent, started advertising the card in newspapers, magazines, and by sending personal mail to potential customers.

[29] In a transaction completed on July 1, 2008, Discover Financial Services purchased Diners Club International from Citibank for $165 million.

From December 16, 2013, until August 31, 2021, Banco Comafi S.A. managed the Diners Club credit card business in Argentina.

On November 1, 2023, Diners Club Australia announced that it was ending personal cards on January 31, 2024, with no transactions possible after that date.

[37] In September 2017, Diners Club International signed a deal with Allinpay, a Chinese payment provider, to be the exclusive carrier of all the cards that are part of the Discover Global Network.

Apart from that, Allinpay intended[clarification needed] to increase the card acceptance in Hong Kong, especially by "travel oriented merchants".

In 2021, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) barred the company (along with American Express) from issuing new cards for failing to follow norms about storing data within the country.

In a statement, managing director of Kazkommertsbank, Nurlan Zhagiparov said, "Our collaboration with Diners Club is another step toward the integration of Kazakhstan into the global economy, which increases the tourism potential in our country.

[45] In the Nordic countries, the long-time franchisee was SEB Kort AB, a subsidiary of the Swedish bank Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken.

In 1978, Citicorp (parent company of First National City Bank which was renamed Citibank) reacquired Carte Blanche without regulatory opposition.

In November 2009, Citibank announced that Diners Club International's North American franchise had been sold to Bank of Montreal (BMO).

[54] In December 2010, Russian Standard Bank and Diners Club International entered into an agreement for settlement of transactions in Russia.

[55] On March 8, 2022, Discover Financial Services and Diners Club International suspended all operations in Russia due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

[66] Turn of events suddenly changed the course of history in June 2016, Security Bank through its credit card division SB Cards Corporation sold Diners Club's exclusive rights in the Philippines to competitor and Philippines' leading banking conglomerate, BDO Unibank[67][68] and in October of the same year, Diners Club International announced that they signed a deal with BDO Unibank to become the exclusive provider of the Diners Club in the Philippines.

[72] In a transaction that closed on August 6, 2010, Citibank sold the Swiss and German franchises to a private investment group headed by Anthony J.

[77] Diners Club UAE, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan is owned and operated by the Network International subsidiary of Emirates NBD Bank.

[78][79] On August 7, 2012, Citigroup announced the sale of its Diners Club franchise in the United Kingdom and Ireland to Affiniture Cards, a private investor group.

The new EMS would provide "timely, accurate and reliable” transactional data feeds for all card expenditure to agency finance or expense systems, allowing them to understand the nature of their travel expenditure, due to the “comprehensive data” that would be provided through the system from travel supplies.

[86] After the Diners Club withdrawal from the Australian market, most government departments have adopted Visa for their card transactions.

[89][90] In 1967, the film How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying was released, incorporating the song Brotherhood of Man including the lyrics, "And other men may carry cards, as members of the Diners".

The Australian band Client Liaison feature Diners Club cards and logos in several of their retro-themed music videos.

[91] In season 4 episode 4 of The Office, Dwight runs a bed and breakfast, and tells Jim and Pam that he takes only Mastercard and Diners Club.

In the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles Del rents the car using Neil's Diners Club card.