According to mernalaw.com, in 2015 there were: "…819,240 bankruptcies filed nationally," and in each of the years 2010-2013 there were more than 1,000,000 bankruptcies filed each year. This signifies that in America, that there are literally millions of people that have filed bankruptcy over the last decade, in which depending upon the bankruptcy filed; it takes seven to ten years for that bankruptcy to be fully discharged from your credit history. What this means for those individuals, is that something that many people take for granted, such as an unsecured credit card, is simply not available or difficult to obtain as an option typically for these people, especially in regards to your basic MasterCard or Visa card.
In the credit card world there are different tiers of credit cards available, based on your credit score and income, in which, the best credit card for most people is one that is both unsecured, that is you do not have to put up collateral such as money to obtain it as well as no annual fee, program rewards, as well as a low or reasonable interest rate. Next, there are credit cards that are unsecured, but require an annual fee, or have a higher interest rate or both. Then there are credit cards, that while still unsecured, have an initiation fee, and then a monthly credit card fee just for the pleasure of having the credit card, as well as a high interest rate, typically marketed to people with bad credit, but not considered to be hopeless. For those with rather anemic credit, there are secured credit cards, in which the typical policy is for the consumer to set up a specific savings account which is used as collateral for the credit card, and depending upon that deposit and credit worthiness, a credit limit is established. Finally, there are people in which because of bankruptcy they have not only terrible credit, but have demonstrated to credit card issuers that they are willing to go through bankruptcy to discharge such debt, not exactly the type of person that most credit card companies will welcome.
Yet, for whatever reason, or however it occurred, people that declared bankruptcy, and/or have atrocious credit have a real interest in pursuing and receiving a credit card, for a lot of reasons, of which the primary one is simply, convenience. We live in a world in which people need to buy food, need to purchase gas, need to purchase other assorted items, and so forth, in which, because most people are not paid daily, but rather are paid weekly, or bi-weekly, or monthly, don't have ready money, but in reality, do have money coming, or its equivalency, but often not enough money is available to them at their moments of need. Those people desire therefore a credit card to cover those expenses, but unfortunately, while doing their search online, for instance, are steered into what are in essence, fake credit cards, that rather than being universal and thereby a credit card that one can use at virtually any store for anything subject to the credit limit, find themselves, instead, being offered a "credit card" that is only good for one or perhaps a couple of specific online stores, and that's it.
The rub for these fake credit cards lie in two distinct areas, in which, first of all, there are the fees, which might include all of the following: an initiation fee, a monthly fee, an application fee, a membership fee, and late fees, for that credit card. In addition, the online store that they can shop at will for a certainty sell items at a significantly higher price point representing a premium to what the item would sell for at a regular website or a brick and mortar store.
In America, whether you want to commend it or disown it, entrepreneurs can make money all sorts of ways, including specifically marketing to the vulnerabilities of those with bad credit, by selling them the illusion that a particular credit card is going to help aid them in repairing their bad credit, or be of help to them during tight budgetary times, or whatever, when in reality, it is all about exploitation, and really nothing else. The bottom line is that most people with bad credit and/or that have gone through bankruptcy have access to money through their job and possibly governmental benefits, and there are specifically companies whose business model is to get that money from those people, because they know that these people can be rather easily suckered.