What is a BIN Lookup?

A BIN (Bank Identification Number) Lookup is a process of retrieving detailed information about a payment card by analyzing its first few digits, known as the BIN or Issuer Identification Number (IIN). The BIN typically consists of the first 4 to 8 digits of a payment card number (PAN).

Here's a breakdown of what it entails:

What is a BIN?

• The first few digits of a payment card number that identify the issuing financial institution (bank) and other card attributes.
• Created by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
• The first digit (Major Industry Identifier - MII) indicates the card network (e.g., 4 for Visa, 5 for Mastercard, 3 for American Express).
• The subsequent digits identify the issuing bank and can also indicate the card type and the country of issuance.
• The standard length of a BIN was six digits, but it has been expanding to eight digits and beyond to meet increasing demand.

What a BIN Lookup Does

By querying a BIN against a comprehensive database, a BIN lookup can reveal various pieces of information, including:

• Issuing Bank: The name of the financial institution that issued the card.
• Card Brand/Scheme: The card network (e.g., Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover).
• Card Type: Whether the card is a credit card, debit card, prepaid card, charge card, etc.
• Card Category/Level: The specific tier or product of the card (e.g., Classic, Gold, Platinum, Business, Corporate, World Elite).
• Issuing Country: The country where the card was issued.
• Issuer Contact Information: Sometimes includes the phone number and address of the issuing bank.
• Currency: The default currency associated with the card.
• Commercial vs. Consumer: Whether the card is intended for business or personal use.
• Prepaid Indicator: Whether the card is a prepaid or reloadable card.
• Support for Specific Features: Information on whether the card supports features like online gambling or tokenization.

How BIN Lookups are used in payments:

BIN lookups are a valuable tool for various purposes in the payment ecosystem:

Fraud Prevention:

• Identifying high-risk card types (e.g., prepaid cards from certain regions).
• Flagging transactions from geographic locations that don't match the issuing country.
• Verifying the legitimacy of payment card numbers.
• Cross-referencing card details with other transaction data (e.g., IP address location).

Payment Optimization:

• Routing transactions to the most favorable payment service provider (PSP) or acquirer based on the card's origin.
• Applying dynamic currency conversion based on the card's issuing country.
• Restricting certain card types for specific services (e.g., preventing prepaid cards for subscriptions).

Enhanced User Experience:

• Dynamically adjusting payment forms based on the detected card type (e.g., displaying the correct card number length).
• Pre-populating the card issuer's name on the checkout page.
• Providing users with relevant payment options based on their card type.

Regulatory Compliance:

• Identifying cross-border transactions for GDPR compliance.
• Determining the applicability of PSD2 Strong Customer Authentication (SCA).
• Applying correct surcharging rules based on card type and funding source.

Chargeback Management:

• Gaining insights into chargeback patterns associated with specific issuing banks.

Business Intelligence and Reporting:

• Analyzing customer demographics and payment preferences based on card issuing information.

How BIN Lookups are Performed:

• BIN Lookup Tools/Services: Many online tools and specialized services allow manual or automated BIN lookups by entering the first few digits of a card number.
• BIN Lookup APIs: For automated integration into payment processing systems, businesses can use BIN Lookup APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). These APIs allow real-time queries to BIN databases and receive detailed card information in response.
• Local BIN Databases: Some high-volume businesses may opt to maintain their own local copies of BIN databases for faster lookups.

In summary, a BIN Lookup is a crucial process in the payments industry that leverages the initial digits of a payment card to provide valuable insights, enabling businesses to optimize payment processing, enhance security, improve customer experience, and ensure regulatory compliance.