BIN (Bank Identification Number)
A Bank Identification Number (BIN) consists of the first six to eight digits of a payment card number, identifying the issuing bank and card type. BINs are crucial for routing transactions and detecting fraudulent activity. Bank Identification Numbers are Visa’s proprietary name for these codes, while Mastercard has used the term Interbank Card Association (ICA). In Virtual credit cards (VCCs) issuers may generate cards under specific BINs with restrictions such as allowed currencies and merchant category codes permitted, in order to reduce the risk of a payment being screened incorrectly and a payment failing due to an intentional or unintentional bias against certain BINs. Interchange rates – the fees paid by the merchant’s bank (acquirer) to the cardholder’s bank (issuer) – are influenced by card characteristics that are often linked directly to the BIN. These include card type, whether commercial, corporate or business, versus consumer debit or credit cards, funding source, geography, issuer and use case or merchant category.
Applications
E-commerce:
Reduces fraud in online card payments by verifying the cardholder's identity
E-commerce:
Reduces fraud in online card payments by verifying the cardholder's identity
Advantages
- Enhanced security: Reduces unauthorised transactions by verifying that the genuine account holder is authorising the payment
- Enhanced security: Reduces unauthorised transactions by verifying that the genuine account holder is authorising the payment
Challenges
- User Experience: Additional authentication steps can cause friction and increase checkout abandonment
- User Experience: Additional authentication steps can cause friction and increase checkout abandonment
