Bank Identification Number
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Bank Identification Number (BIN) is the first six digits of the number of various financial cards. These digits identify which network the card belongs to as well as which organization issued it.
Cards participating in the BIN system include:
In the United States, BINs are used in NCPDP pharmacy claims to identify processors, and are printed on all pharmacy insurance cards. BINs are the primary routing mechanism for realtime claims. Each processor has one or more BINs, which it divides into plans by using Group Number and Processor Control Number fields.
Online merchants may use BIN lookups to help validate transactions. For example, if the credit card's BIN indicates a bank in one country, while the customer's billing address is in another, the transaction may call for extra scrutiny.
The term "Issuer Identification Number" (IIN) is replacing "Bank Identification Number". See ISO 7812 for more information.
[edit] See also
- Bank Identifier Code (BIC)
- International Bank Account Number (IBAN)
[edit] External links
- All Net Tools – free BIN lookup service
- List of EBT BIN numbers by state
