Credit cards were first introduced in the US in the 1950s and have since grown tremendously in popularity and use. There are now over 300 million Visa and Mastercards in use in the US alone. While credit card interest rates remain high despite competition, credit card companies have engaged in some non-price competition through rewards programs. Smart cards were introduced in the 1970s but have not seen widespread adoption in the US due to their higher costs compared to magnetic strip cards and the challenges of getting consumers to change their habits.