Global cardholders make almost 450 billion purchases annually, according to studies.
Each day, 1.2 billion credit or debit card transactions occur in this manner. that is, 14,000 purchases every second bin search get you help in to find your BIN.
How is that even doable? The power of bank identity numbers is embraced during transaction processing.
Utilise this comprehensive manual to comprehend BINs and how they may affect the bottom line of your company.
What is a bank identification number?
How do BINs work?
What are the BIN ranges and major industry identifiers?
How are BINs used for transaction processing?
How are BINs used for fraud prevention and chargeback management?
What is a Bank Identification Number?
A bank identification number (BIN) is the first four to eight digits printed on a payment card. BINs identify the bank or financial institution that issued the card to the cardholder.
BINs are included on most payment cards — credit cards, debit cards, prepaid cards, gift cards, and electronic benefits cards.
How Do BINs Work?
The main function of a BIN is to convey identifying information such as:
The bank, institution, or organization that issued the card
The type of industry the issuer is in (travel, banking, etc.)
The card network that the issuer is a part of (Visa, Mastercard, etc.)
The country where the issuer is located
The phone number and/or website for the issuer
The type of card issued (debit, credit, pre-paid, etc.)
The length of the card numbers
Basically, a BIN acts like a postcode for your customer’s financial institution. It helps you, the merchant, route transactions to the right place so funds can be collected from the correct account.
What are the BIN Ranges and Major Industry Identifiers?
The first digit of the BIN is called the major industry identifier (MII). This digit helps identify the issuer’s industry.
For example, the MII for Visa cards is 4 because most Visa issuers are in the banking or financial industry.
American Express and Diners Club® originally started in the travel and entertainment industry, so some of their BINs have an MII of 3.
The following is an overview of the current BIN ranges and MII assignments.
How are BINs Used For Transaction Processing?
There are dozens of different tasks involved in processing a payment card transaction — most happening in a matter of seconds.
In order for those tasks to be completed accurately and on time, there needs to be a clear understanding of who is doing what. BINs help make that happen.
When a transaction is initiated, the corresponding BIN tells you, your gateway, your processor, your acquirer, and the card brand which issuer to bring into the conversation.
Once you know which bank you are dealing with, you can do all the things that need to be done to facilitate a sale
Without a BIN or IIN, it would take a lot of manual labor and a significant amount of time to process a transaction.
But by quickly identifying which bank is involved, you can seamlessly accept payments from your customers.
How are BINs Used For Fraud Prevention & Chargeback Management?
The most effective fraud and chargeback management strategies are data-driven. The more insights you have, the more accurate your decisions and actions will be.
The information provided by BINs can be funneled into your overall risk management strategy, making it more effective.
BIN data can help stop fraudsters from making unauthorized purchases.
For example, if the BIN tells you the issuer is located in Canada but the merchandise is being shipped to India.
That might be a red flag for fraud. Or if the purchase was made with a corporate card but items are being shipped to an apartment
BINs can also help prevent chargebacks. Breaking down chargeback data by BIN usually reveals several useful insights.
For example, chargebacks might be more common with credit cards than debit cards. Or you might discover that some issuers dispute transactions at a higher-than-average rate.