You may have wondered what the numbers on your credit card mean, and even whether they mean anything at all. They do, and we’re going to explain you what each one of them is all about. Actually, some of them come in bundle, but you’ll get the point. Let’s start with…
The first digit
The first digit on your credit card identifies the issuer. Specifically:
- 2 & 5 – Mastercard
- 3 – American Express or Diner’s Club
- 4 – Visa
- 6 – Discover
From there we proceed to the…
Next 5-6 numbers
The next five or six digits identify the bank, thus this number is called the bank identification number, or BIN for short.
The bigger the bank, the more numbers it has, with the likes of Bank of America, Citi and Chase owning rights to hundreds of BINs. In contrast, smaller banks only license a portion of the range.
And finally, we have…
The rest…
The remainder of the digits make up the actual individual account number, with the exception of the final digit — which is not part of the account. That last number is known as a check digit and is used to verify that the card is real.
Companies processing credit card transactions use a special formula to verify that the card number is valid and has not been incorrectly entered, with that last number playing an important role in this process.
Also, there are other details that are used for processing credit cards, including the card’s expiration date, and the 3- or 4-digit CVV number.
New technologies could add new approach to all those numbers
Already, there are some credit cards that instead of a 3-digit code have a small screen that changes the code every hour or every day. This, of course, increases the security of the system, but this sort of card has yet to be tested on a large scale. Also, it could make life just a tad harder for frequent shoppers who have already memorized the CVV numbers.
Somewhat similarly, during this year’s CES – the company called Dynamics Inc. unveiled a connected card that can instantly replace the 16 digits of a compromised account with new ones. The problem, however, is the price and this sort of credit card will likely be reserved for truly premium account holders…