subject: How Long Does A Card Bin Search Last? [print this page] There are many ways to verify a credit card but only some of these ways are actually done via manual work. Since this manual verification is done, there is fewer chances that the results will come back wrong due to an automated system. A reliable method of verifying cards is through a card bin search to ensure the bank exists and the card is active. The card bin search only requires the merchant to be able to put in the first six numbers of the card. As this is provided, the card bin search will be done from a large database of numbers that exist.
The card bin search requires the number to exist in order to provide information about the card. If there is no data available within the card bin search then the card is either fake or no longer active. The card bin search is extremely accurate in finding cards that are actually valid for the validation process between the merchant and the transaction processor. This is important for a very simple reason, as the processor will charge fees and even dock a business for providing card numbers that are invalid. The card bin search makes use of the system that is in place to identify cards around the world.
The Structure of the Card Number and the Card Bin Search
The card number length can actually vary between certain brands but there is usually a set of 16 numbers distributed in groups of 4. The first 4 of the first group and the first 2 of the second group are the bin. The following numbers are control numbers and account numbers. The final digit in the sequence is a special checksum number that is used with an algorithm that is designed to ensure that the card is valid based on the previous numbers in the sequence. Without a checksum number that matches, the entire number will simply not exist as a valid combination when submitted to the processor.
A card bin search only used the first six digits, but it performs a major function. The first thing you need to verify is if the issuer of the card even exists. You do not want to try to collect money from an imaginary card issuer as there will not be any money given at all. In the rare instances that it would give money, it would only be in error of the processing services which would eventually reverse.
The card bin search can easily weed out these unwanted fake or no longer used card numbers to help save time, effort and money when running a purchase through electronic card. The card bin search really only takes a couple of seconds to complete whenever you have the bin number available. Otherwise a manual card bin search could take several hours to look through a list of known bin numbers. The manual card bin search may also be outdated by a great deal of time. Using an automated online card bin search, you can get verification results as soon as you finish typing in the bin number!
