Ever wondered why the chip on your credit card made it slower — or where the chip and stripe on your credit card even came from? Here's the story. In the mid-'60s, the airline industry had a problem. The 747, the first real jumbo jet, had just been introduced. There were more passengers at the airport than before. More passengers meant longer lines. And that was especially bad because this was the era when customers paid for their tickets right there at the airport — often by credit card. Back then, paying by credit cards was a whole ordeal. The airlines had to call up the bank manually in order to confirm the card. With lines growing, the airlines needed a faster process. So they called IBM to ask for help, and that's where our story (which also features some French fraudsters and a hippie inventor) begins. LISTEN to the original 'Planet Money' podcast episode here: http://n.pr/2InJ2af SUBSCRIBE TO 'PLANET MONEY SHORTS': http://bit.ly/2o5dHjo SUBSCRIBE TO 'PLANET MONEY': http://n.pr/2Eq8WMl WATCH MORE NPR VIDEOS: null Host Alex Goldmark Originally Reported By Alex Goldmark Julia Longoria Producers Bronson Arcuri Ben Naddaff-Hafrey Editor Bronson Arcuri Animation Marcie LaCerte Cast Alex Chen Nick Fountain Camilla Franklin Alex Goldmark David Gorsline Ryan Kellman Kenny Malone Colin Marshall Julia Melfi Nick Michael Ben Naddaff-Hafrey Stephen Thompson Series Creative Director Mito Habe-Evans Consulting Producers Alex Goldmark Robert Smith Bryant Urstadt Executive Producer Keith Jenkins Special Thanks To TWA lounge at 1WTC by TWA Hotel Marquet Patisserie Archival Media Prelinger Archives ------------------------------------------------------ Help support Planet Money and get bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at https://plus.npr.org/planetmoney. Follow NPR elsewhere, too: • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/npr/ • TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@npr • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NPR