Credit card cards. Merchants often advertise which cards they accept by displaying acceptance marks – generally derived from logos – or this may be communicated in signage in the establishment or in company material (e.g., a restaurant's menu may indicate which credit cards are accepted). Merchants may also communicate this orally, as in "We take (brands X, Y, and Z)" or "We don't take credit cards". The credit card issuer issues a credit card to a customer at the time or after an account has been approved by the credit provider, which need not be the same entity as the card issuer.
Credit reference Credit reference A credit reference is information, the name of an individual, or the name of an organization that can provide details about an individual's past track record with credit. Credit rating agencies provide credit references for companies while credit bureaus provide credit references for individuals. Other letters of credit reference might be written by banks, which would provide basic information about how long the applicant has held an account, what type of account it was, and whether there were any overdrafts or late payments noted. Individuals and companies can carry out credit checks on businesses in order to assess