Valid Credit Card Number
What Do The Digits In A Valid Credit Card Number Really Mean?
What is a valid credit card number? Did you ever take a close look at your card and wonder what all those digits actually stand for? Strictly speaking, they are not all related to your account number, but each of those digits does have its purpose, and they do identify you and more.
So let's take a closer look.
Most of the top credit cards companies all follow the same set of rules when creating a valid credit card number, whereas companies with other types of credit cards such as department store credit cards and those used by gas companies have developed their own unique systems to generate numbers.
For now, though, we'll direct our attention to the top credit cards companies to see how they determine our card numbers.
Valid Credit Card Numbers And Their MeaningLet's look at some of the ways numbers are used to enable the card companies to identify your own unique card number.
How many numbers does a credit card have? Industry standards have set the maximum number of digits that a credit card may have at nineteen.
The first digit will identify the industry of the card issuer. For example, airline issued cards begin with either a 1 or a 2, travel and entertainment cards begin with a 3, bank cards begin with either a 4, 5, or 6, and gasoline credit cards begin with a 7.
The remaining digits in the string are used for different purposes depending on the type of card and the company that issued it.
For example, a set of digits after the first digit will signify the routing number of the bank that issued the card, the next set of digits signifies your individual account number, and the last digit is what's called a check digit; it will quickly verify that the card number is authentic.
The "check digit" is obtained by subjecting all the preceding digits in the series to a unique mathematical formula called the Luhn Algorithm which was invented in the 1960s by Hans Peter Luhn, an IBM scientist.
There is one other set of digits which some card users are not even aware of. The "card verification number" is a small three or four digit number that appears on either the front or back of the card, depending on the card issuing company. Its purpose is to assist the credit card companies and merchants in identity theft prevention.
For instance, if you use your credit card to buy something online, you might be asked for your card verification number. By supplying it, you indicate to the merchant that you are in actual possession of the card.
For a closer look at how credit card ID numbers are used, let's examine three familiar credit cards.
American ExpressAs mentioned earlier, the first digit identifies the card's type, so because the American Express credit card is classed as a Travel and Entertainment card, it is assigned the number 3 for its first digit.
The second digit will identify the actual card company, so American Express uses either a 4 or a 7, whereas Diners Club uses a 6 or an 8 to identify their cards. Therefore, the first two numbers that appear on an American Express card will always be either 34 or 37.
The third digit signifies the card type (business or personal), while the fourth refers to the national currency used which depends on your country of origin. Digits five to eleven identify your personal account number, digits twelve to fourteen identify the card number within the account, and the last digit is always the standard check digit.
On an American Express card the card verification number consists of four digits, and it appears on the front of the card to the right of the card number, but in smaller type, as shown in the illustration below outlined in red.
VISAAgain, the first digit identifies the card type, so all VISA credit cards, VISA debit cards, VISA cash cards, and so on, are assigned the number 4 to identify them from those issued by the other card companies.
Digits two to six identify the bank that's issuing the card. Digits seven to twelve or seven to fifteen identify your personal account number, and the final digit is the standard check digit to verify the valid credit card number.
VISA cards vary in the number of digits they carry, so the number of digits in a grouping might differ, but most are sixteen digits long.
On a VISA card the card verification number consists of three digits, and as shown in the illustration below outlined in red, it appears on the back of the card on the right side of the card number, usually in slanted black type near where you have signed your card.
MasterCardThe first digit identifies the card type, so all MasterCard credit cards, MasterCard debit cards, MasterCard cash cards, and so on, are assigned the number 5 to identify them from other cards. Digits two to anywhere between three and six identify the bank that's issuing the card. The rest of the digits, except the final check digit, identify your personal account number.
On a MasterCard card the verification number consists of three digits and like its counterpart on the VISA card (see above illustration), it appears on the back of the card on the right side of the card number, usually in black type near where you have signed your card.
After all is said, this information about what makes up a valid credit card number is not terribly useful to the average card user, and you are likely wondering why you ever thought about it to begin with.
If nothing else, it's trivia you can use to impress your geeky friends.
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