Often there is a need to find out by the card number which bank it belongs to. However, all of these methods are not a guarantee of obtaining reliable data. This is due to the fact that banking institutions do not publish such data publicly.
Identification of digits in the card number
Most cards have a 16-digit number . For convenience, the numbers are divided into 4 blocks of 4 each. Some banks issue cards with 17- and 18- and even 19-digit numbers. All numbers on the card have their own meaning. The first 6 digits are the bank identifier. BIN is assigned to a certain type of card of a particular banking institution.
The bank identifier, first of all, allows you to find out the type of payment system used. According to banking standards, the first digit is considered an indicator of belonging to such payment systems
- 3 – JCB International;
- 3 – American Express;
- 3, 5, 6 – Maestro;
- 4 – Visa;
- 5 – MasterCard;
- 6 – China UnionPay;
- 7 – universal electronic card.
2, 3 and 4 digits in the number indicate the number of the bank that issued the plastic card. 5 and 6 provide additional information about this lending institution. Together, the first six digits in the card number are the so-called bank identifier or BIN.From 7 to 15, the number on the bank card identifies the type of banking product, currency and country of issue. According to banking standards, the number of characters in this identification number is usually 9. In some cases, however, this identification number may be 7, 10 or 13 characters long. This indicator depends on the service system chosen by the bank.
The last 16th digit is considered the result of digital calculations using a special formula that takes into account the previous digits of the number.
How to find an online bank by card number
One of the most convenient ways to find out the bank by card number is to use special online services that provide the necessary information after entering the bank identifier. To accomplish this task, it is enough to BIN Checker digits and get data on the payment system used, the country of issue, the issuing bank, as well as the type and category of the card.
How to find out a bank with a non-standard number of characters on the card
As mentioned above, in practice, debit and credit bank cards with 18- and 19-digit numbers can be used. Such cards are a complete financial instrument. Their difference from the standard is due to the indication of the additional code for the banking product. Most often, 18- and 19-digit numbers are found on student, retirement or social cards. Additional numbers allow you to divide the cards into subroutines. 18 digits can most often be seen on banking products of the Maestro payment system.
Modern banking standards also allow the issue of cards with 15-. signs. Such cards are issued only by the American Express payment system. On AmEx cards, numbers are broken not into 4, but into 3 blocks (4-6-5 digits). This feature is due to the excellent format of the AmEx cards. They are classified as “travel and entertainment” cards. That is why these cards were originally provided for organizations that are involved in the field of entertainment and tourism. It should be added that 15-character cards on MasterCard and Visa payment systems are issued by banks.
Also, often in circulation you can find cards without numbers. Such banking products, as a rule, contain a combination of 4 characters. It stands for a 4-digit BIN topographically applied.
What is the design of modern bank cards?
To identify the bank, you can take a close look at the card design. Usually, the logo of the issuing bank is applied to it. It can be found in the upper left or upper right corner of this banking product. Modern bank cards also indicate:
- surname and name of the owner;
- validity;
- duplicated last 4 digits of the number displayed on payment documents;
On the back of the cards, you can find a 3-digit CVV code used to protect against intruders. Only the cardholder should know the three digits of this code. In addition, the owner should not upload a photo of the back of the card to the network. In order to carry out a transaction with a card, the information indicated on its front side is sufficient. Only scammers ask to provide the information indicated on the back of the card.
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