Introduction
Country club billing is a billing system which was previously used by credit card companies. It was used until the 1970s and cardholders were provided with the original copies of sales drafts as a part of their settlements, which were made through monthly instalments.
This practice was in place so as to give proof for every transaction or purchase recorded on the card used by the cardholders. This mode of billing was brought to an end as rising paper cost, labour, and mailing proved to be unaffordable.
Understanding Country Club Billing
This term ‘country club billing’ has possibly arisen due to the fact that credit cards are mostly used by the individuals that are financially well off. Credit cards can be considered as high-class debt as not all can afford it. There is another theory which says clubs have a billing method that records sales transactions, such as the purchase of food, drinks, and other goods and services.
All recorded sales transactions are preserved in a file for every individual cardholder and then providing the same to the respective individual at the end of each billing cycle. The term and the billing methodology is no more in use as other billing methodologies have been found and are proved to be much more efficient.
Modern Billing Methodology
The green activists never liked the idea of the country club billing as it needed hard copies printed on a piece of paper, which meant more trees are fallen. The credit card lenders have moved on from the country club billing to itemising transactions and have reduced the usage of papers in the billing methodology.
Now, the credit card lenders are making use of the email facilities to inform card users about their transactions, and users are alerted on every transaction they make through an email and text message. This method is proved to be way more efficient than country club billing. The advent of technology has paved the way for electronic storage of transactions and billing.
