What is a Bank Identification Number (BIN)?
A bank identification number (BIN) identifies and verifies parts of a bank transaction.
How Does a Bank Identification Number (BIN) Work?
For example, when you purchase something with your Visa card, the vendor and the payment processor receive a six- to nine-digit ID number. The first six digits identify the type of credit card (i.e., whether it's a MasterCard, Discover, Visa card or one from a department store) and the bank that issued the card.
When an electronic system validates a card transaction, part of the process is checking a database of BINs. (The American Bankers Association assigns and distributes BINs.) It keeps these BINs in a secure, nonpublic database. The configuration and data in the database can vary by country (for instance, BINs are only four digits in some countries).
Why Does a Bank Identification Number (BIN) Matter?
BINs help merchants track where transactions are coming from, and their use has helped credit card and debit card transactions proliferate in recent decades. They are fundamental parts of accepting or declining a card transaction.
Personalized Financial Plans for an Uncertain Market
In today’s uncertain market, investors are looking for answers to help them grow and protect their savings. So we partnered with Vanguard Advisers -- one of the most trusted names in finance -- to offer you a financial plan built to withstand a variety of market and economic conditions. A Vanguard advisor will craft your customized plan and then manage your savings, giving you more confidence to help you meet your goals. Click here to get started.
Read This Next
When you're faced with serious money sucks -- say, unemployment, a new home or the prospect of funding your child's college education -- it...
Read More →
Traders find success along many paths, but most follow discretionary or systemic trading rules. Discretionary traders buy and sell based upon what they think is going to happen in the markets....
Read More →
As the manager of Fidelity Investments’ Magellan Fund from 1977 to 1990 – which averaged a 29.2% return during that time and grew from $18 million in assets to $14 billion under his management –...
Read More →
Windfalls come in many forms: inheritance, bonus, legal settlement... or maybe you just won the lottery. When you...
Read More →
Western Union. PhillipMorris. DirecTV. Hershey. Colgate. As diverse as these companies are, they have two things in common: Historically, their businesses have been highly-valued by Wall...
Read More →
