Access was a credit card

Credit card

A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...

 brand originally introduced in the United Kingdom in 1972 by a consortium of National Westminster Bank

National Westminster Bank

National Westminster Bank Plc, commonly known as NatWest, is the largest retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom and has been part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc since 2000. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is ranked as the second largest bank in the world by assets...

, Midland Bank

Midland Bank

Midland Bank Plc was one of the Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birmingham, England in August 1836...

 (now HSBC

HSBC

HSBC Holdings plc is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom. it is the world's second-largest banking and financial services group and second-largest public company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine...

), Lloyds Bank

Lloyds Bank

Lloyds Bank Plc was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales from 1765 until its merger into Lloyds TSB in 1995; it remains a registered company but is currently dormant. It expanded during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and took over a number of smaller banking companies...

 (now Lloyds TSB

Lloyds TSB

Lloyds TSB Bank Plc is a retail bank in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1995 by the merger of Lloyds Bank, established in Birmingham, England in 1765 and traditionally considered one of the Big Four clearing banks, with the TSB Group which traces its origins to 1810...

), and The Royal Bank of Scotland

Royal Bank of Scotland

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is a British banking and insurance holding company in which the UK Government holds an 84% stake. This stake is held and managed through UK Financial Investments Limited, whose voting rights are limited to 75% in order for the bank to retain its listing on the...

, as a rival to the established Barclaycard

Barclaycard

Barclaycard, part of Barclays Retail and Business Banking, is a global payment business. The Barclaycard was the first credit card introduced in the UK, coming into service in 1966. It enjoyed a monopoly until the introduction of the Access card in 1972....

 (VISA

Visa

Visa or VISA may refer to:* Visa , a document issued by a country's government allowing the holder to enter or to leave that country...

). It was also issued in both Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 and the Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 by Ulster Bank

Ulster Bank

Ulster Bank is a large commercial bank, one of the Big Four in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The Ulster Bank Group is subdivided into two separate legal entities, Ulster Bank Limited and Ulster Bank Ireland Limited...

, a subsidiary of NatWest, Northern Bank

Northern Bank

Northern Bank , is a commercial bank in Northern Ireland. It is one of the oldest banks in Ireland having been formed in 1809. Northern Bank is considered one of the leading retail banks in Northern Ireland with 82 branches and four finance centres...

, then a subsidiary of Midland; and Bank of Ireland

Bank of Ireland

The Bank of Ireland is a commercial bank operation in Ireland, which is one of the 'Big Four' in both parts of the island.Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the Bank occupies a unique position in Irish banking history...

, which was unconnected to the founder banks.

The card scheme was run from Southend-on-Sea

Southend-on-Sea

Southend-on-Sea is a unitary authority area, town, and seaside resort in Essex, England. The district has Borough status, and comprises the towns of Chalkwell, Eastwood, Leigh-on-Sea, North Shoebury, Prittlewell, Shoeburyness, Southchurch, Thorpe Bay, and Westcliff-on-Sea. The district is situated...

 in Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

, England, by the Joint Credit Card Company Limited. It participated in the Eurocard

EUROCARD (payment card)

Eurocard was a credit card, introduced in 1964 by a Swedish banker in the Wallenberg family as an alternative to American Express.-History:In 1965, Eurocard International N.V. was established, based in Brussels, as a not-for-profit membership association of European banks. Its operational entity...

/MasterCard

MasterCard

Mastercard Incorporated or MasterCard Worldwide is an American multinational financial services corporation with its headquarters in the MasterCard International Global Headquarters, Purchase, Harrison, New York, United States...

 systems. Europay International

Europay International

Europay International was the name of the entity created by the merger of Eurocard International, and Eurocheque International. The merged entity was headquartered in Waterloo, Belgium, on the same premises as EPSS and MasterCard EMEA .Europay International was the owner of the...

 SA has since been taken over by MasterCard International itself.

Cultural impact

One of the early slogans was Your flexible friend (which was featured in an episode of Mr. Bean

Mr. Bean

Mr. Bean is a British comedy television programme series of 14 half-hour episodes written by and starring Rowan Atkinson as the title character. Different episodes were also written by Robin Driscoll, Richard Curtis and one by Ben Elton. The pilot episode was broadcast on ITV on 1 January 1990,...

); another slogan which featured in a television advertisement was Does you does, or does you don't take Access? (sung to the tune of "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby

Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby

"Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby" is a 1944 Louis Jordan song, released as the B-side of single with "G.I. Jive". "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby" reached #1 on the US folk/country charts. The Louis Jordan recording also peaked at number two for three weeks on the pop chart and peaked at...

"), accompanied by an animated Access and his friend Money (a pound sign); yet another slogan was It takes the waiting out of wanting. Access merged with the international credit card brand MasterCard in 1996. Some businesses still advertise as accepting the Access card as old signage

Acceptance mark

An acceptance mark, in the world of credit cards, is a logo or design that indicates that a merchant accepts one or more credit card types. Common uses include decals and signs at merchant locations or in merchant advertisements. The purpose of the mark is to provide the card holder with...

has not been removed.

External links

• The UK Cards Association History of Plastic Cards