ADebit card is also known as an ATM Cardand apart from using it to withdraw money from any ATM machine, it can be used for online shopping, online bill payments, etc.
What is a Debit Card?
A Debit card is an electronic payment card used to compile and execute financial transactions of its cardholder (user). Though this card belongs to its cardholder, in a real sense, it always remains the property of its issuingBank. The Cardholder is free to use it until its day of expiration provided he/she maintains a balance in his or herBank account. From a business perspective, a Debit card is a suitable alternative to cash payments.
A Debit card can be defined either in a simple way or in a detailed manner depending on how it is perceived with respect to different perspectives offinance.
An ATM card can be used in the same manner as we use as a pay-as-you-go SIM card. If we do not have a balance on the SIM, we cannot talk over the mobile phone, similarly if there is no balance in your bank account, you cannot use the debit card. Due to advancement of technology, we have received a benefit that now we need not to visit banks to withdraw cash, now we can have cash in hand through ATM machines by using ATM cards..
Nowadays, every bank account holder has a debit (ATM) card. People use them conveniently but there are still some people who do not have much knowledge about these cards. They may even not know that bank account details can be easily accessed by the digits given on their debit card? They just know that some numbers are written on both sides of the debit card.
There are millions of different ATM cards from the major issuers, but all of them have one thing in common: the meaning of the numbers on the card.
Most major cards have 16 digits on them and each number has a specific meaning.
Do you know that these digits or numbers not only depict the details of your bank account but are also very important from a security point of view? It is very helpful in preventing fraudulent activities that can occur at the time of shopping and online banking. Moreover, if due to some type of negligence these details are leaked, then it might lead to the defrauding of your bank account.
What can be revealed by 16 digits written on a Debit Card?
On the front face of debit card, a 16 digits’ code is written. It is also known as a Permanent Account Number or PAN. First 6 digits arethe Bank Identification Numberand the rest 10 digits area Unique Account Numberof the card holder. Even the Global Hologram printed on the debit card is a type of security hologram, which is very difficult to copy. It is three dimensional. The date and year of expiry is also written on the debit card so that the card holder can remember that after this date, the debit card will not work and therefore cannot be used for any type of transaction.
The first digit of Debit Card: (Image Source: psdgraphics.com)
The first number/digit shows the industry, which has issued the card; it is known asthe Major Industry Identifier(MII). Like the Banks, Petroleum, etc. It is different for different industries.
Industries that roll out the Major Industry Identifier(MII) code?
- ISO and other industries
- Airline companies
- Travel and entertainment (American Express or Food Club)
- Banking and Finance (VISA and MasterCard )
- Banking and Merchandising
- Petroleum
- Telecommunications and other industries
- National Assignments
Digit 1 (Industry ID) - MII Code Identifiers
The digit values represent the category of an issuer;
- 0 – ISO and industry assignments
- 1 and 2 – Airline cards
- 3 – Travel and Entertainment for example Amex
- 4, 5 – Banking and Financial for example Visa,Mastercard
- 6 – Merchandising and Banking for example Discover, Diners Club
- 7 – Petroleum
- 8 – Telecom
- 9 – For Assignments by National Standards Bodies
The meaning of the first 6 digits (Issuer ID)
The first 6 digits of a debit card tell us about the company which has issued the card. It is known asthe Issuer Identification Number (IIN).
Company’s Issuer Identification Number (IIN):
MasterCard = 5XXXXX
VISA = 4XXXXX
Although all Visa cards start with the number 4, the following 5 digits indicate which bank issued the Visa card. Mastercards start with 5, Discover starts with 6. You will notice that some websites don’t ask you what type of card you have — they obviously know what the digits on the card mean.
The next 7 numbers, leaving the last digit, which is from 7thto the 15thdigit:
The 7thdigit to the 15thdigit, leaving the last digit, are linked to your bank account number. We cannot call it your bank account number but this number is linked to the account. But there is nothing to be worried about, as these numbers do not reveal anything about you and your bank account. It has only been issued by the card provider and is kept unique. It is a unique number that identifies your account.
The last digit of the debit card (Check Digit):
The last number of the debit card is known asa Check Digit. From this digit, it can be inferred whether the card is valid or not.
This single digit is one of the most important ones on the card. Much like the last digit of a barcode, the sole purpose of this digit is to allow validation of the rest of the number. In other words, there is a mathematical relationship between the numbers on the card, so if the number is entered incorrectly, the card validator system can indicate the card number was entered incorrectly. It is only intended to verify that the card number was not accidentally typed in wrong when making phone or online payments.
The check digit is used to verify cardnumbers for accuracy. Because it is calculated according to a public domain formula called the Luhn algorithm. It is not intended to protect against malicious attacks against merchant services of POS systems. In fact, thepatentfor the Luhn algorithm dates back to 1960.
You can validate a card number on your own too. Double every other number, starting with the first number. Add the result of those multiplications to all of the other digits on the card, treating all numbers as individual digits, including double digit results from the doubling operation. If the sum of all these numbers isdivisibleby ten, the number is valid according to the ISO standard. However,a valid card number doesn’t necessarily mean the number is an active account or that charges can be made with it.
For further clarification, I will include the CVV code at the back of the card;
The Back of the Debit Card:
At the time of Online Shopping and or paying bills online,a CVVnumber is required so that the transaction can be completed properly and securely. A CVV is the three digit number, which is printed at
A Card Verification value (CVV) is a combination of features used for the purpose of establishing the owner's identity and minimizing the risk of fraud. The CVV is also known as the card verification code (CVC) or card security code (CSC). When properly used, the CVV is highly effective against some forms of fraud.
You get a CVV code once the bank has issued you with a debit card. In order to calculate the code, the bank uses a certain algorithm that includes a couple of CVKs (known also as DES keys), an expiration date, a service code, and a PAN (Primary Account Number).
By including all these values into the computations, the system provides you with a CVV for making online purchases.
So each digit on a debit card number is important for validation, security and identification during the payment processing.
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