BIN Checker - BIN Check (2024)

What is a Banking Identification Number (BIN)?

A Bank Identification Number (BIN) is the first six digits of a credit card number that identify the issuing bank, card brand, card type, card level, and country of a credit card issued from. Online merchants, point-of-sale systems, and payment processors use this information to verify whether payments are being sent from an authentic account and to also identify which type of card you have. In other words, it’s how credit cards are identified in the payments industry.

How BIN Works?

The bank identification number is a numbering system developed by the American National Standards Institute and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to identify institutions that issue bank cards. The first digit of the BIN specifies the Major Industry Identifier (MII), such as airline, banking or travel, and the next five digits specify the issuing institution or bank. For example, the MII for a Visa credit card starts with a 4. The BIN helps merchants evaluate and assess their payment card transactions.

Each card issuer has its own BIN numbers for different brands or "payment networks". The first four digits signify the institution that issued the card, while the remaining digits identify a specific card type within that issuer. If you have an American Express credit card, the associated number begins with 34 or 37 and is followed by four numbers in any order. An example of this would be 342758 / 432266 / 548064 / 648618 / 812177. The same holds true for Mastercard – it usually starts with a number between 51 and 55 and has a maximum of 16 digits.

The BIN quickly helps a merchant identify which bank the money is being transferred from, the address and phone number of the bank, if the issuing bank is in the same country as the device used to make the transaction, and verifies the address information provided by the customer. The number allows merchants to accept multiple forms of payment and allows faster processing of transactions.

When a customer makes an online purchase, the customer enters her card details on the payment page. After submitting the first four to six digits of the card, the online retailer can detect which institution issued the customer’s card, the card brand (such as Visa or MasterCard), the card level (such as corporate or platinum), the card type (such as a debit card or a credit card), and the issuing bank country.

What information does the free BIN checker give with examples?

Our BIN checker works with major brands and most private brands as well. Let's take this Visa BIN as an example: 402617, this will be translated to the following:

• Card Brand: VISA
• Card Type: CREDIT
• Card Level: SIGNATURE
• ISO Country Name: UNITED STATES
• Issuer Name / Bank: BANK OF AMERICA
• Issuer’s website & other contact information: 704-386-5972 or 704-386-5681

What is the major industry identifier "MII"?

MII is the first digit of a credit/debit card number. The MII identifies the type of the issuing institution. American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) developed a numbering system to identify institutions that issue payment cards. Financial payment cards, such as those branded with Visa and MasterCard logos are mostly issued by banks and so fall into the category of payment networks. Industry Identifier (MII). It’s used to identify which industry the card was issued by. The MII digits are:

Here is a table of the list of MII types:

Who uses BIN numbers?

The BIN codes are used by merchants and other players in the payment ecosystem to identify the credit card issuer. If you swipe your credit card at a store or website, they can check the validity of the credit card by using the BIN checker. In addition, the security features for each transaction are identified, so both sides are clear about which features apply.

Why is it necessary to understand how BIN numbers work?

BIN numbers are important because they provide both merchants and payment processors with all the information they require to assess risk and interchange fees. The BIN number tells a merchant:

• If the card issued from a trusted issuer.
• If the issuer is located in the same geographic region as where the transaction takes place
• If the address provided by the cardholder matches what's on file and IP address if the transactions placed online.
• The issuing bank's/institution's name, location and contact information.
• The card type (credit or debit), card level and if the card is a part of a reward program.

How credit card fraudsters use the BIN numbers?

Fraudsters can illegally get the credit card numbers directly from the victims, hacked online shopping websites and even from banks. They can either clone the data on fake plastic cards and buy what they need offline or use the cards data online to buy services, electronics and any goods they can reach. Even more they may use specific software to create more and more cards just using the BIN numbers and try to get their expiry date and security code for each card.

How understanding BIN numbers can help you avoid losing money as a merchant?

It's no secret that as a merchant, you're always at risk of fraudulent activities. This is especially true when it comes to credit card transactions, where someone can easily steal your information and use it for their own gain.

One way to help protect yourself from such frauds is to understand how BIN numbers work. These 6 digits can tell you a lot about a card, such as the type of card it is, the issuing bank, and sometimes even the country of origin.

Knowing this information can help you determine whether a credit card transaction is legitimate or not. For example, if you see a credit card with an unfamiliar BIN number, you may want to proceed with caution and investigate further before completing the transaction.

Finally, you can't depend on only checking BIN numbers alone to make sure you have a secure transactions. Checking BIN numbers of the credit cards is one of many factors when it comes to online payments specifically. You have to check IP address where the transaction is placed, phone number and area code, using proxy or VPN apps, device fingerprints, unsuccessful attempts form the same person, etc.