Submitted by idkmybffdee t3_zz9hja in explainlikeimfive
I know how they work functionally, in that you borrow money and pay it back with interest, but where does that money come from? Like how does my credit card company get the money to give the people I spend it at? Where did the money for my house come from? It seems like they would always be operating in the negative.
nrron t1_j2a9ktp wrote
Banks incentivize people with money to bank with them and then use that money to loan to others and make money on the interest.
Credit card companies make money by charging a fee to the business that accept their cards and they make money on interest when people don’t pay their balance in full each month