Going from 6 to 8 digits
As almost all countries see a decline in cash payments and many customers prefer to purchase using credit cards, more card issuers have come online. This change made card brands run out of possible 6-digit combinations - and thus, the switch to 8-digit BINs began.
How do 8-digit BINs impact merchants?
After April 2022, the use of 8-digit BINs will increase, but the transaction process for merchants won't change. Because merchants distribute the complete 16-digit number to payment service providers (PSPs), gateways, and receivers, the differentiation between 6-digit and 8-digit BINs does not affect the data transmission.
What can merchants use 8-digit BINs for?
While the change does not affect merchants in the payment process, it does open a possibility to gain more insights into each payment.
BIN data is used by merchants for information about the issuing bank, country, and card type (prepaid, debit/credit, business/personal, levels, etc).
Adding two extra digits simply ensures that merchants can continue to access correct metadata on each credit card as more and more cards are issued across the world.
How do merchants access BIN data?
Merchants, and other companies handeling credit card payments, typically purchase BIN data through a BIN data vendour such as IINlist. Uniquely for IINlist, we have a direct partnership with credit card schemes ensuring weekly updated and validated data. Get real-time data through our API - we'll get you set up in minutes.
