6-Digit vs. 8-Digit Card BINs: What You Need to Know

The Bank Identification Number (BIN), also known as the Issuer Identification Number (IIN), is an essential part of payment card processing. Traditionally, BINs consisted of the first six digits of a card number, which provided crucial information about the issuing bank, card type (credit, debit, prepaid), and country of issuance.

However, as the global demand for payment cards has increased, the industry has been transitioning from 6-digit BINs to 8-digit BINs to accommodate the growing number of issuers.

This transition was set in motion by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) with the 2017 update to the ISO/IEC 7812 standard. By April 2022, Visa and Mastercard stopped issuing new 6-digit BINs, shifting entirely to the 8-digit format. While this change increases the available pool of BINs, it also introduces complexities for businesses relying on BIN lookups for fraud prevention, transaction routing, and customer analytics.

Why Are BINs Expanding?

The payments industry is evolving rapidly, and the expansion to 8-digit BINs was necessary due to:

• BIN Shortage: The rise of fintech companies, digital banking, and new card programs has led to a depletion of available 6-digit BINs.
• More Unique Identifiers: 8-digit BINs allow issuers to create more card products while avoiding conflicts in numbering.
• Better Fraud Prevention: More granular BIN data helps businesses analyze transactions more effectively.

Do Merchants & Businesses Need to Worry?

For most businesses, transactions will continue as usual. However, companies that rely on BIN lookups for transaction filtering, fraud detection, or analytics must update their systems to support 8-digit BINs. Many legacy systems were built around 6-digit BINs, and failing to adapt could lead to incomplete or inaccurate data handling.

Key considerations:

• Fraud Detection: If your fraud prevention rules are based on 6-digit BINs, they may need adjustments to account for 8-digit BINs.
• Data Analysis: Businesses that use BIN lookups for customer insights need to ensure their databases and algorithms can process 8-digit BINs correctly.
• Routing Transactions: Payment processors and acquirers must ensure their systems can handle both 6- and 8-digit BINs for proper routing.

HandyAPI: Ahead of the Curve with 6 & 8-Digit BIN Support

At HandyAPI, we’ve been proactive in ensuring that our BIN Lookup API fully supports both 6-digit and 8-digit BINs. Whether you’re dealing with legacy 6-digit BINs or the new 8-digit standard, our system provides accurate, up-to-date data to help your business make informed decisions.

Why Choose HandyAPI for BIN Lookups?

• Dual BIN Support – We seamlessly handle both 6-digit and 8-digit BINs, ensuring backward compatibility while staying future-proof.
• Accurate & Up-to-Date Data – Our database is continuously updated, giving you access to the latest issuer and card data.
• Comprehensive Insights – Get information about card type, issuing bank, country, and fraud risk indicators in real time.
• Lightning-Fast API – Designed for speed and reliability, our API responds in milliseconds, making it perfect for real-time applications.

Can You Tell if a Card is Debit or Credit Just by the Number?

One of the most common misconceptions in the payments industry is that you can determine whether a card is a debit or credit card just by looking at the card number. However, this is not possible using just the raw digits of a card number.

While the BIN can provide useful information about the issuing bank and the card network (Visa, Mastercard, etc.), it does not inherently distinguish between debit and credit cards. This is because many issuers use overlapping BIN ranges for both debit and credit products, making it impossible to determine the card type without additional data.

How HandyAPI Solves This Problem

At HandyAPI, our BIN Lookup API does more than just provide the country and bank details associated with a card number. It also returns card type information—specifically, whether a card is debit, credit, prepaid, or charge card.

This is critical information for businesses that need to apply the correct surcharge at checkout (many merchants apply different fees to credit and debit transactions) or choose to accept debit cards only.

Comprehensive BIN Data at Your Fingertips

Our real-time API doesn’t just tell you the issuing bank or country—it gives you full insights into a card, including:

• Card Type: Debit, Credit, Prepaid, or Charge
• Issuer Name: The bank or financial institution that issued the card
• Card Tier: Standard, Gold, Platinum, etc.
• Country: Where the card was issued
• Luhn Check Validity: Ensuring the card number is properly formatted

With HandyAPI, you get the most accurate, up-to-date, and detailed card information available—helping your business stay ahead in an ever-evolving payments landscape.

Future-Proof Your Business with HandyAPI

The transition from 6-digit to 8-digit BINs is happening faster than many businesses expected. Whether you're a merchant, payment processor, or fintech startup, having the right tools in place is critical. HandyAPI ensures that you don’t have to worry about compatibility issues—we handle the complexity so you can focus on growing your business.

Start using HandyAPI today and stay ahead of the curve in the evolving payments landscape. Sign up now!