What do Credit Card numbers mean?

Most people use credit card today for it makes payments easier and they are handy to carry around in your wallet. Credit cards have embossed numbers on it and they are unique for every card. Have you ever wondered what these digits stand for? In this article, we will explain the significance of the credit card numbers.

Most credit card companies follow the ANSI Standard X4.13-1983system for numbering the credit cards. Let’s get down to the understanding these numbers.

The first digit signifies the type of the card or the system of the card. For e.g. If the first digit is 3 then it is a travel or entertainment card from the service providers like Diner’s Club, American Express, etc.

Card numbers starting from 4 are for Visa, 5 for MasterCard and 6 for Discover Card.

Now, let’s concentrate on the other numbers. The numbering system of different card is different.

Visa:A Visa card number can be of 13 digits or 16 digits. The second number to the sixth number on a Visa credit card stands for bank number. The digit starting from the 7^th place till the 12^th or 15^th (in case of a sixteen digit number) signifies the account number. The last number is a check digit.

American Express –American Express cards are of 15 digits. Digits three and four signifies the currency, digits starting five till eleven are the account number; digits on the 12^th place till the14^thare the card number within the account. The last digit 15 is a check digit.

MasterCard –Master cards have are of 16 digits. The 2^nd and 3^rd digits or from 2^nd till 4^th digit or 5^th or 6^th arethe bank number (it depends on whether the second digit is a 1, 2, 3 or other). The digits after the bank number up tilldigit 15 are the account number. The last digit is a check digit.

Hope you found this article of credit card numbers interesting and informative.