Consumers and credit cards: A

Research in the area of consumer credit card abundance of literature in the business, psychology, and public policy fields. 1960s, the work revolved around descriptive characteristics and evolved as scholars probed deeper by investigating relationships between credit cards and psychological constructs, and the need for consumer policy. While the scope of credit card research has broadened, there is a need to pause and reflect on what we actually know about the phenomenon, given its proclivity in society. This paper identifies the empirical research conducted over the past four decades in order to provide insights and recommendations for additional research. A total of 537 refereed journal articles from 8 databases were reviewed and evaluate to credit cards, with a final working 2012. Emerging trends are identified and suggestions for future research are provided