Highlights
- A BIN (Bank Identification Number) is the first 6 to 8 digits of a payment card number. It identifies the institution that issued the card.
- BIN and IIN refer to the same digits. IIN (Issuer Identification Number) is the formal term under the ISO/IEC 7812 standard; BIN is the older, common industry name.
- Visa and Mastercard expanded BINs from 6 to 8 digits globally in 2022 to address a shortage of available numbers.
- The BIN tells the payment system the card's issuer, network, type, and product level, which drives transaction routing and fraud checks.
- BINs are obtained two ways: a direct network licence, or a BIN sponsor that lets a business issue cards under an existing licence.
Every payment card number starts with a code that says who issued the card. That code is the BIN, or Bank Identification Number. A BIN is the first 6 to 8 digits of the card number, and it identifies the financial institution behind the card. Without it, a payment network could not tell where to route a transaction or whom to ask for authorisation.
For any business considering issuing its own cards, the BIN is the starting point. It determines the card's network, type, and product level, and it shapes how every transaction on that card is processed. This guide explains what a BIN is, how to read one, how BINs differ from related terms like IIN and PAN, the types of BINs available, and how a business obtains one.
What Is a Bank Identification Number (BIN)?
A Bank Identification Number (BIN) is the set of leading digits on a payment card that identifies the card's issuing institution. BIN stands for Bank Identification Number. On most cards, the BIN is the first 6 to 8 digits of the full card number.
The BIN does the identifying work in a card transaction. When a payment is initiated, the network reads the BIN to determine which institution issued the card and where to send the transaction for authorisation. The same digits also reveal the card's network and type, which is why merchants, processors, and issuers all rely on the BIN.
A BIN is assigned, not chosen at random. Card networks such as Visa and Mastercard allocate BIN ranges to the institutions they license, and each institution's cards carry digits from its assigned range.
Is a BIN the Same as an IIN?
Yes. A BIN and an IIN are the same digits under two different names. IIN stands for Issuer Identification Number, and it is the formal term defined in the ISO/IEC 7812 standard, the international standard for card numbering. BIN, or Bank Identification Number, is the older and more widely used industry name for the same leading digits.
The standard itself is global, not specific to any one country. The ISO Register of Issuer Identification Numbers is managed by the American Bankers Association (ABA), which acts as the Registration Authority for the standard. In everyday payments language, "BIN" and "IIN" are used interchangeably, though "IIN" is the technically correct term.
How Many Digits Is a BIN? 6-Digit vs 8-Digit
A BIN is either 6 or 8 digits. For decades the BIN was the first 6 digits of a card number. Visa and Mastercard extended the BIN from 6 to 8 digits globally on 1 April 2022.
The change was driven by supply. Growth in the number of card issuers created a shortage of available 6-digit numbers, so the industry moved to 8 digits to expand the pool. The overall card number length did not change. A 16-digit Visa or Mastercard number stays 16 digits; only the portion treated as the BIN grew from 6 digits to 8.
For businesses, the practical effect is that systems handling cards, including routing, fraud screening, and reporting, need to read BINs at 8 digits rather than assuming 6.
What Does a BIN Look Like? Breaking Down a Card Number
A BIN is the front portion of the Primary Account Number (PAN), which is the full card number. Reading the leading digits reveals what the BIN encodes.
Take the example BIN 414631 on a 16-digit card number:
The leading digits map to the major card networks as follows (ISO/IEC 7812):
This is the difference between a BIN and a PAN. The PAN is the entire card number, between 8 and 19 digits long. The BIN is only its first 6 to 8 digits. Every BIN sits inside a PAN, but the PAN also contains the account identifier and check digit that the BIN does not.
What Is a BIN Range?
A BIN range is a block of consecutive BINs assigned to a single issuer or product. Card networks do not hand out BINs one at a time. They allocate ranges, and every card an institution issues draws its leading digits from within its assigned range.
BIN ranges matter because they let the payment system map any card back to its issuer and product without a central lookup for every transaction. When a processor sees a card number, it checks which range the leading digits fall into to determine the issuer, the network, and often the card product. Networks publish account range tables so that processors and merchants can resolve a card's attributes from its range.
What Information Does a BIN Identify?
A BIN reveals several attributes of a card before a transaction is authorised. The main ones are:
These attributes also support fraud prevention. By reading the BIN, a processor or merchant can check whether a transaction is consistent with the card's known issuer, type, and country, and flag mismatches that suggest fraud.
Types of BINs and Card Types
BINs are categorised along a few dimensions. The first is the card type the BIN generates:
Two further distinctions describe how a BIN is allocated to an organisation:
How Do BINs Work in Payment Processing?
The BIN is what makes routing possible. When a cardholder pays, the payment system reads the BIN first and uses it to send the authorisation request to the correct network and issuer.
The sequence is straightforward. The merchant or payment processor captures the card number, extracts the BIN, and identifies the issuer and network from it. The transaction is then routed to that network and on to the issuer, which approves or declines based on the account. The BIN is also used downstream for fraud screening, reporting, and applying any rules tied to the card's type or country. Because the BIN carries the issuer and network identity, an accurate BIN lookup is what keeps a transaction moving to the right place.
How Do You Get a BIN?
A business obtains a BIN in one of two ways: a direct network licence or a BIN sponsor.
The choice between the two depends on speed, control, and the resources a business can commit to licensing and compliance.
How Reap Can Help
Businesses that want to launch their own card program often need more than access to a BIN. They need an issuing stack plus the compliance and operational backbone to run the program day to day. Reap supports this through managed card programs, bundling core components partners typically have to assemble themselves — such as card issuing, compliance, and operational support — so they can focus on the customer experience and distribution
Conclusion
A BIN, or Bank Identification Number, is the first 6 to 8 digits of a card number, and it carries the identity that makes a card transaction work. It tells the payment system who issued the card, on which network, of what type, and from where. Reading a BIN, knowing how it relates to the IIN and the PAN, and understanding the difference between dedicated and shared or retail and commercial BINs gives a business the foundation to evaluate a card program. When the time comes to issue cards, the BIN is where every program starts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does BIN stand for?
BIN stands for Bank Identification Number. It refers to the first 6 to 8 digits of a payment card number, which identify the institution that issued the card. The same digits are also called the Issuer Identification Number (IIN), the formal term under the ISO/IEC 7812 standard. Both names describe the same leading digits.
How many digits is a BIN number?
A BIN is either 6 or 8 digits. The BIN was traditionally the first 6 digits of a card number. Visa and Mastercard expanded it to 8 digits globally on 1 April 2022 to increase the supply of available numbers. The overall card number length did not change; only the portion treated as the BIN grew.
Is a BIN the same as an IIN?
Yes. A BIN (Bank Identification Number) and an IIN (Issuer Identification Number) are the same leading digits of a card number. IIN is the formal term defined in the ISO/IEC 7812 international standard, while BIN is the older and more common industry name. The two terms are used interchangeably in payments.
What is the difference between a BIN and a PAN?
The PAN (Primary Account Number) is the full card number, between 8 and 19 digits. The BIN is only the first 6 to 8 digits of that PAN. The BIN identifies the issuer, network, and card type, while the rest of the PAN identifies the individual account and ends in a check digit.
Can two cards share the same BIN?
Yes. Many cards share a BIN. A shared BIN is used by multiple organisations issuing under the same licensed framework, while a dedicated BIN is assigned to a single organisation. Cards on the same BIN draw their leading digits from the same assigned range.
What can a BIN tell you about a card?
A BIN reveals the card's issuing institution, its network, its type (credit, debit, or prepaid), whether it is a consumer or commercial card, its product level, and the issuing country and currency. Payment processors use these attributes to route transactions and to run fraud checks before authorisation.
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