Table of Contents

Country Club Billing

By

Lucas Downey

Updated May 07, 2023

Reviewed by

Samantha Silberstein

Fact checked by

Yarilet Perez

What Is Country Club Billing?

Country club billing was a former billing system used by credit card companies until the 1970s that involved including copies of original sales drafts to cardholders in their monthly statements. This was done to provide proof of each purchase that was recorded on the card. Rising paper, mailing, and labor costs put an end to this style of billing.

Key Takeaways

Country club billing refers to an old-school accounting method, using paper billing statements.
Credit card companies would provide copies of sales drafts to cardholders in their monthly statements as a receipt or proof of purchase.
Due to the rising costs associated with paper and mailing, and the advantages of improved digital technology, this type of billing is no longer used.
Today's billing statements are itemized and electronic.

Understanding Country Club Billing

The term "country club" may have originated from the fact that only well-to-do individuals carried credit cards. Another theory was that country clubs have a billing methodology of recording all sales transactions (food, drink, personal services), keeping them in a file for an individual member, and then presenting the bill at the end of a month. Whatever the derivation of the term, this system of billing has long since been discontinued. The credit card billing system we are familiar with today itemizes purchases with transaction dates, vendors, and amounts.

Toward a Paperless Society

Environmentalists hated country club billing (also country clubs, for that matter) because of all the paper involved. As credit card companies moved from mailing copies of sales drafts to itemizing transactions on one or two pieces of paper, they reduced usage of paper and in so doing eliminated a portion of operating expenses. The trend toward electronic storage of credit card transactions that cardholders can access online will continue to further cut down on paper waste. If a cardholder has a question or issue with a particular transaction, they merely need to pick up the phone, send an email, or engage in a live chat to sort it out. There is always a paper trail but without the paper.

Why Was It Called Country Club Billing?

The term supposedly derived from the fact that during the 1960s and 1970s, only wealthy people were part of country clubs and only wealthy people carried credit cards. It may have also emerged as a result of the way country clubs recorded sales transactions, item by item, and kept them in a file for a member until the total bill was presented at the end of the month.

Did Country Club Billing Provide Receipts?

Essentially country club billing was a way of providing credit card users with the equivalent of receipts for each purchase made, so as to verify and authenticate the charge. Nowadays, charges are itemized and listed.

When Was Country Club Billing Used?

Country club billing was used throughout the 1970s, until rising costs and improved technology made it an obsolete way of providing credit card users with their bills.

The Bottom Line

Country club billing was a form of accounting in which credit card users were provided with copies of original sales drafts for all their purchases, sent via the mail. This method of billing was costly, labor intensive and cumbersome, as it involved mailing volumes of paper to users every month. Country club billing has been obsolete since the 1970s, having been replaced by itemized and electronic billing.

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