Credit cards and mathematics.

Credit Credit cards card issuers use statistical analysis in a wide variety of ways. Statistical models of risk help the banks decide whom to approve for card membership and what interest rate to charge. Models also help issuers manage the risks of their existing customers and detect fraudulent transactions. Credit card issuers use designed experiments to help decide which offers have the largest potential to be profitable. Typically, the bank tries out the new offer on a sample of people (while leaving others in a control group) before deciding whether the new offer will be successful if given to the entire customer base. Data mining techniques help banks look at customers’ past transactions in order to model future uses of the card and to help decide which customers are most likely to want which other products and services that the bank offers.