New forms of credit are often met with suspicion. A century ago retailers selling furniture and cars realised they could reach more customers if they accepted payments in instalments. To detractors this was a sign of moral decay: “Beware of the slimy coils of the instalment evil,” blared one advert in the Houston Chronicle in 1926. When in 1958 Bank of America started posting credit cards to customers, it did not take long for opponents to worry about the consequences.
