PAN Logic
The PAN (primary account number) is the 16-digit number that identifies a payment card account. It is usually printed on the front of the card in four groups of four digits, though sometimes the number is printed on the back. The PAN is globally unique: every payment card in the world has a different number. With 16 digits, each ranging from 0–9, the raw number of possible combinations is 10,000,000,000,000,000 or ten quadrillion. However, not all combinations are valid PANs, because of how the numbers are allocated and calculated.
PAN format
The PAN format is controlled by ISO/IEC 7812, and the American Bankers Association is the registration authority. PANs are constructed according to this schema.
| Positions | Description |
|---|---|
| 1–6 | BIN (bank identification number), obtained from your sponsor bank. Visa is currently not offering 6-digit BINs but only 8-digit BINs. |
| 7–8 | Standard range. These ranges are provided by the sponsor bank and have become standard in the last few years. As 6-digit BINs become more scarce, networks have mandated their use. A standard implementation gets 10 ranges, such as 00–09 or 30–39. |
| 9 | An optional account range. See 9-digit BINs for more information |
| 9–15 10–15 | Randomized digits for the individual account number. If position 9 is not used as a range digit, it is part of the randomized digits. |
| 16 | Check digit, calculated by the Luhn algorithm. If one or more of the other digits is changed, this check digit becomes invalid, so PAN validators can reject an altered PAN right away. |
Number usage
When allocating PANs for individual accounts, Galileo uses randomization to assign the individual account numbers. This security measure makes it harder for fraudsters to guess which PANs are valid: if they increment a valid account number by 1, it is less likely to also be a valid number than if the numbers were assigned sequentially.
The more PANs Galileo assigns, the harder it becomes for Galileo to find a unique number to use. At around 70–80% of the range's capacity, it becomes too time-consuming to find a unique number, so a new BIN must be used.
Assuming that Galileo uses 75% of available numbers, here are the numbers of PANs that you can use.
| BIN digits + ranges | Available account numbers | Example range |
|---|---|---|
| 6 + 1 range 8-digit BIN | 7,500,000 | 5555 5500 0000 000x – 5555 5500 9999 999x |
| 6 + 10 ranges | 75,000,000 | 5555 5500 0000 000x – 5555 5509 9999 999x |
| 6 + 100 ranges | 750,000,000 | 5555 5500 0000 000x – 5555 5599 9999 999x |
| 9-digit BIN | 750,000 | 5555 5555 5000 000x – 5555 5555 5999 999x |
Examples
- If the bank gives you a 6-digit BIN plus one range, your PANs all begin with 5555 5500, which provides 7.5 million PANs.
- On the other hand, If the bank assigns you a BIN of 5555 55 and provides 10 ranges, the BINs for your cards would go from 5555 5500 to 5555 5509. With an average of 75% usage, you would have 75 million PANs at your disposal.
- In extraordinary cases, a card program could get 100 ranges (the maximum possible with the first 8 digits), so the BINs would range from 5555 5500 through 5555 5599, which would yield 750 million PANs.
- With a 9-digit BIN, the PANs all begin with 5555 5555 5, which provides 750,000 PANs.
9-digit BINs
Availability
Galileo is currently offering 9-digit BINs on a limited basis. Contact Galileo to see if your program is eligible.
With 9-digit BINs, you can support these use cases:
- You have multiple business clients and would like to allocate a different 9-digit BIN to each client.
- You offer a physical card and a virtual card, and you would like to use different 9-digit BINs for each card.
- You would like to allocate 9-digit BINs according to the cardholder's geographic location.
- You offer 10 card products, and you want to assign a different 9-digit BIN to each one to help simplify card management.
From the network/bank you get a conventional 8-digit BIN, and then you allocate the account range (digit 9) according to your use case. You notify both the network and Galileo that you are using a 9-digit BIN, and then Galileo generates your PANs with the same 9-digit BIN per product, per client, or per whichever criteria you choose.
For example, if you have 5 card products, and you want to assign each of them a different 9-digit BIN, these are the ranges that Galileo would use when generating the PANs for each product:
| Product ID | Beginning PAN | Ending PAN |
|---|---|---|
| 1000 | 5555 5555 0000 000x | 5555 5555 0999 999x |
| 1001 | 5555 5555 1000 000x | 5555 5555 1999 999x |
| 1002 | 5555 5555 2000 000x | 5555 5555 2999 999x |
| 1003 | 5555 5555 3000 000x | 5555 5555 3999 999x |
| 1004 | 5555 5555 4000 000x | 5555 5555 4999 999x |
Properties of 9-digit BINs
- To use 9-digit BINs, you must start with a new 8-digit BIN that has not had any cards generated against it, and then you arrange with Galileo to allocate 9-digit BINs per the criteria you choose.
- You cannot mix different card types (credit, debit, GPR) among 9-digit BINs. If the initial 8-digit BIN is a debit BIN, then all of the 9-digit BINs derived from it will also be debit BINs.
- You cannot mix commercial and consumer products with the same 8-digit BIN. If the initial 8-digit BIN is commercial, then all of its 9-digit BINs will also be commercial.
- You can use different currencies for each 9-digit BIN. You must make arrangements with the card network to specify each currency.
Updated 5 months ago