Credit Card Glossary
Card Digits
The digits on your credit card have coded meanings but are easily demystified.
The first digit in your credit-card number signifies the vendor:
3 - travel/entertainment cards (such as American Express and Diners Club)
4 - Visa
5 - MasterCard
6 - Discover Card
The structure of the card number varies by system but they all contain numbers that symbolize the bank account, the type and currency, the bank number and the check digit number. For example –
American Express - Digits three and four are type and currency, digits five through 11 are the account number, digits 12 through 14 are the card number within the account and digit 15 is a check digit.
Visa - Digits two through six are the bank number, digits seven through 12 or seven through 15 are the account number and digit 13 or 16 is a check digit.
MasterCard - Digits two and three, two through four, two through five or two through six are the bank number (depending on whether digit two is a 1, 2, 3 or other). The digits after the bank number up through digit 15 are the account number, and digit 16 is a check digit.