'bankcard' originates from English compound of 'bank' + 'card', where 'bank' ultimately comes from Italian 'banco' meaning 'bench' (the money‑changer's table) and 'card' comes from Latin 'charta' meaning 'paper' or 'leaf (of papyrus)'.

'bank' entered Middle English from Old Italian 'banco' (bench, table for moneylenders), while 'card' came via Old French 'carte' from Latin 'charta'; the compound 'bank card' arose in modern English as card technology and banking services developed in the 20th century and later became commonly written as 'bankcard' or 'bank card'.

Initially, 'card' referred to a piece of paper or a small flat object; with technological and banking developments the compound came to mean a plastic (or electronic) card issued by a bank for transactions and access to services.