The widespread growth of bank (and other) charge-account plans implies a distinct possibility that retail food marketing, as well as the food producing, processing, and distributive sectors, indirectly, may become involved to a significant degree in a consumer credit operation. The purpose of this report is to explore the rather complex marketing implications posed by the injection of a combined credit mechanism and sales promotional device into the retailing of food. Special attention is devoted to the potential impact of the credit system on marketing costs and practices, retail prices and competition, and consumer demand. It is hoped that the analysis in this report, though primarily nonempirical in nature, may be useful (1) in furnishing insight into the currently developing "credit card" situation confronting retail outlets for agricultural products, and (2) in supplying an analytical basis that may assist interested research workers in further analysis and empirical studies. A brief case study of the bank-charge-account plan in one foodstore is included at the end of the article.