The Access card was introduced in the United Kingdom on 23 October 1972[REF] by a consortium consisting of the National Westminster Bank, the Midland Bank, Lloyds Bank and the National and Commercial Banking Group, as a rival to the established Barclaycard.
The card scheme was run from several offices in Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England, by the Joint Credit Card Company with the main site being located at Priory Crescent, the former home of Ekco.