If you take a close look at your
credit cards, you'll probably
wonder what all those numbers stand for. Every digit actually
stands for something specific. Let's have a look at each of
those numbers in sequence.
Laptop Battery The First Digit
The purchase area of our site is secure. This means that all information exchange between our server and your computer, including credit card number, name, and address, will be encrypted so that it cannot be read as it travels over the Internet. Every single credit card transaction you make with us is fully guaranteed.
Thinkpad Gasoline cards, department store cards and phone cards have
their own programs.
You can safely enter your entire credit card number via our secure server, which encrypts all submitted information. Our secure server software (SSL) is the industry standard and among the best software available today for secure commerce transactions. It encrypts all of your personal information, including credit card number, name, and address, so that it cannot be read as the information travels over the Internet. All of our credit card information is stored on a secure, dedicated database.
Microsoft The major credit card companies operate on a standardized
system for assigning credit card
numbers. The first digit in the series will always be a 3, 4, 5
or 6. This number designates the type of card you have. For
instance, a 3 means it's a travel and entertainment card, such
as American Express or Diners Club. A 4 is Visa and Visa-branded
debit cards, cash cards; a 5 is MasterCard and
MasterCard-branded debit cards, cash cards; and 6 is
Discover.
Laptop Computers The Other Numbers
Laptop Computer American Express and Diners Club use the second digit to
identify the company. That means that Diners Club cards will start
with either 36 or 38, and American Express cards will lead off with
34 or 37.
Desktop Computer The remaining numbers in the series are used for other purposes,
depending upon the card type and issuer. Generally, the numbers
grouped after the opening series is the routing number of the bank
and the next group is the user's account number. The final digit is
special -- a check digit. This is a number calculated by applying a
specific formula, and it is used as a fraud check.
Notebooks Look At Your Card
Lenovo American Express uses digits 3 and 4 for
business or personal card type
and the currency of the cardholder's country of origin. Digits 5
through 11 are the account number. Digits 12 through 14 show the
card number attached to that account. The last digit is, of
course, the check digit.
Hard Drive Visa uses digits 2 through 6 for the bank number. Beginning with
digit 7 and running through 12 or 15, they're the account number,
and the last number is the check digit. The number of digits in a
group may vary because Visa cards don't all have the same number of
digits.
Travelstar With MasterCard, the second digit through digit 3 (to as high as
6) is the bank number. All remaining digits, except the end check
digit, identifies the cardholder's account.
Gateway And that's it. A slightly complex system necessary to track
billions of credit cards across the globe.
Laptop Parts Ron King is a full-time researcher, writer, and web developer.
Visit new-credit-card-now to learn more about this
fascinating subject.
Software Copyright 2005 Ron King. This article may be reprinted if the
resource box is left intact.
[ Comment, Edit or Article Submission ]
