Joseph P. Williams (February 2, 1915 – November 8, 2003) was the creator of the BankAmericard, the first nationwide bank credit card, which later evolved into the VISA brand.
He attended the University of Pennsylvania and served as an infantry officer in the United States Army during World War II.
[1] Diners Club, the first major travel and entertainment charge card, had been introduced in 1950, and American Express and Carte Blanche followed in 1958, but all of these offerings had to have bills repaid in 30 days and were accepted by a limited number of vendors.
[1] By the mid-1950s, Williams was the senior vice president in charge of a group that had the unofficial task of creating the nation's first all-purpose credit card.
[1] He formed the Uni-Serve Corporation in 1962 and bought the credit card operations from Chase Manhattan Bank for US$9 million, the value of the unit's unpaid billings.