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BIN Lookup
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600+ reviewsWhat is a BIN?
A BIN (Bank Identification Number) is the first 6 to 8 digits of a credit or debit card number. It tells you which bank issued the card, which network it runs on, the card type, and the issuing country. It reveals nothing about the cardholder.
BIN is the name banks and merchants use. The ISO/IEC 7812 standard calls the same digits the Issuer Identification Number (IIN), so a BIN lookup and an IIN lookup return the same data. Merchants and payment processors use BINs to detect potential fraud, comply with regulatory requirements, and route payments accurately.
For a deeper look at routing and authorization, read our guide to bank identification numbers in payment processing.
How the Primary Account Number Works
A Primary Account Number (PAN) is usually 16 digits long (15 for American Express) and has three parts:
- The Bank Identification Number (BIN): Identifies the issuing bank or institution.
- The Account Identifier: Links the card to your account.
- The Checksum Digit: Validates the PAN using the Luhn algorithm.
Because the BIN sits at the start of the PAN, the first digits often reveal the card network. Use this table to identify a card type by its number.
What Can You Learn from the BIN?
Our BIN Lookup tool provides insights like:
- Issuing Bank or Institution: Identify the financial institution responsible for issuing the card to ensure accurate transaction routing.
- Card Network: Determine if the card belongs to Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or another network to apply the correct processing rules.
- Card Type: Understand whether the card is credit, debit, prepaid, or charge to manage transactions appropriately.
- Card Level: Learn if the card is standard, gold, platinum, or corporate, which can indicate spending limits or benefits.
- Geographic Location: Find the card’s issuing country or region, which helps in detecting unusual activity or fraud.
- Regulatory Compliance: Ensure cross-border transactions adhere to local financial regulations.
- Debit or Credit Routing: Debit and credit cards carry different interchange costs. Knowing which one you have helps you route it correctly, including over PINless debit networks.
How to Use the BIN Lookup Tool
- Enter the first 6 digits of the card number in the BIN field at the top of this page.
- Click Go to run the lookup. Never enter a full card number, CVV, or expiry date. The tool only needs the BIN.
- Read the result: issuer, brand, country, card type, and card category.
- Compare the issuing country with the customer's billing address, shipping address, and IP location before you ship.
Example BIN Lookup Result
Here is what a real lookup returns for a sample BIN. This is a generic example, not tied to any real cardholder or transaction.
How Merchants Use BIN Data to Stop Fraud and Chargebacks
A BIN check is one of the cheapest fraud checks you can run. It takes a second and flags orders where the card does not fit the customer's story. US-issued cards were tied to 41.87% of global card fraud losses in 2024, while making up 26.31% of card volume, according to the Nilson Report.
BIN checks help after a dispute too. If a cardholder claims fraud, showing that the issuing country matched the billing and shipping address strengthens your evidence. Pair BIN screening with chargeback alerts so you can refund a flagged order before it becomes a chargeback.
A BIN check cannot catch friendly fraud, where the real cardholder disputes a purchase they made. Fraud that gets through also counts under the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP). VAMP flags merchants whose combined fraud and dispute ratio reaches 1.5% in most regions. Check where you stand with the free VAMP calculator.
6-Digit vs 8-Digit BINs
ISO updated its card numbering standard, ISO/IEC 7812-1:2017, to lengthen the issuer identification number from 6 to 8 digits. Visa and Mastercard set April 2022 as the date for issuers, acquirers, and processors to support 8-digit BINs. Card numbers stay the same length, so a longer BIN leaves fewer digits for the account number.
If a 6-digit lookup returns an issuer that does not match the card, confirm it with the full 8-digit BIN through your payment processor.
BIN Rules for Compliance: PSD2, PCI DSS, and Gambling
Some payment rules depend on what the BIN tells you about the card. Three come up most often for online merchants.
What a BIN Lookup Cannot Tell You
- Who the cardholder is: a BIN identifies the issuer, never the person.
- Whether the card is active or has funds: only an authorization request can confirm that.
- The card behind a digital wallet: Apple Pay and Google Pay use token numbers with their own ranges. A lookup may describe the token, not the physical card.
- Recent changes: banks merge and reassign BIN ranges, so any BIN database can lag behind.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a BIN lookup safe to use?
Yes. A BIN lookup only reveals the issuing bank, card network, card type, and country tied to the first 6 to 8 digits of a card. It never exposes the full card number, the cardholder's name, or any other personal or account details.
Can a BIN lookup show the cardholder's name or full card number?
No. The BIN only identifies the issuing institution and network, not the individual account. Merchants use this data to detect potential fraud and verify a card's origin, not to look up a specific person.
What is the difference between a BIN lookup and a BIN or card number generator?
A BIN lookup checks real, already issued BIN data to identify the issuing bank and network. It does not create new or usable card numbers. Chargeflow's tool is a lookup only, built for merchants verifying legitimate transactions, not a number generator.
How many digits are in a BIN?
Most BINs are 6 digits, though newer card formats use 8 digits as part of a 16 to 19 digit Primary Account Number. Visa and Mastercard have issued 8-digit BINs since April 2022.
How do merchants use BIN data to prevent chargebacks?
Merchants cross-check the BIN's country and issuer against the customer's billing and shipping details. A mismatch, like a US-issued card shipping to a different country with no prior order history, is a common early fraud signal, used alongside chargeback reason code tracking and broader chargeback automation to catch fraud before it becomes a dispute.
Is a BIN the same as an IIN?
Yes. BIN (Bank Identification Number) and IIN (Issuer Identification Number) are two names for the same first 6 to 8 digits of a card number. IIN is the formal term in the ISO/IEC 7812 standard. BIN is the name most banks, processors, and merchants use.
Can I find the issuing bank from a credit card number?
Yes. Enter the first 6 digits of the credit card number into a BIN lookup tool. It returns the issuing bank, card network, card type, and country. You never need the full card number, and you should never paste one into an online tool.
What is a BIN list or BIN database?
A BIN list, or BIN database, is a table that maps BIN ranges to issuing banks, card networks, card types, and countries. A BIN lookup tool queries a BIN database. Because banks reassign and merge ranges, a BIN database needs regular updates to stay accurate.
How can I tell the card type from the card number?
Look at the first digits. Card numbers starting with 4 are Visa, and 51 to 55 or 2221 to 2720 are Mastercard. Numbers starting with 34 or 37 are American Express, and 6011 or 65 are usually Discover. A BIN lookup confirms the network plus the card type, such as credit, debit, or prepaid.
Chargebacks?
No longer your problem.
Recover 4x more chargebacks and prevent up to 90% of incoming ones, powered by AI and a global network of 20,000+ merchants.