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Explainer
What is a card BIN, and why do online payments get declined by BIN?
A card BIN is the prefix of a card number that identifies the issuing institution. The formal name in the international standard is Issuer Identification Number (IIN). Merchants, acquirers or issuers may accept or refuse whole BIN ranges, so an online payment is sometimes described as “declined by BIN”. This site cannot see scheme BIN tables and cannot promise the next charge.
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Reviewed 14 October 2026
What is a card BIN (IIN)?
ISO/IEC 7812-1:2017 defines the numbering system for issuer identification on identification cards. The 2017 edition defines IINs as eight digits so remaining ranges can be assigned more efficiently worldwide. Everyday payments language still says BIN (Bank Identification Number) for the same prefix. It is not a second standard.
EMVCo’s IIN-extension note says IINs issued from January 2017 are eight digits, and that EMV contact-card Tag 42 — which used to hold only six-digit IINs — now supports both six- and eight-digit values. The rest of the account number still identifies the account. This page does not describe how to reconstruct an account from a number.
What does a BIN tell a merchant or issuer?
The IIN/BIN locates the issuer and the product range. Acquiring and issuing systems use it to route a transaction to the right network and bank. It does not, by itself, prove who is holding the card, and it does not replace 3D Secure.
In EMV 3DS, the directory server returns issuer BIN ranges that are enabled for a protocol version, so the merchant-side 3DS server knows whether it can start authentication. That is routing and capability data, not a public “decline reason” table. This site does not sell or scrape scheme BIN databases.
Why would an online payment be declined by BIN?
A merchant, acquirer or issuer may apply a rule to a BIN range: domestic cards only, no prepaid or domestic-only products, or a requirement that the range complete 3DS. Some merchants publish product limits (for example prepaid cards that cannot buy a named service). That is a merchant rule, not ISO’s definition of a BIN. One decline does not mean every virtual card fails.
An exit IP, billing country and issuance country that disagree can be reviewed together with the BIN country. That is a risk combination, not ISO’s definition of an IIN. This site cannot see a real decline code and does not offer a BIN table.
How is a BIN different from 3DS or the account number?
The BIN/IIN identifies the issuer and product range for routing. It does not prove who holds the card and does not replace 3D Secure. If the question is a declined virtual or U-card, use the existing virtual card declined page. That page covers visible decline text; this page only explains the identifier.
Questions and answers
- Is a BIN six digits or eight?
- ISO/IEC 7812-1:2017 defines newly assigned IINs as eight digits. EMVCo says implementations must support historic six-digit and new eight-digit values. Which form a given card uses follows the issuer and the scheme.
- Can this site name the bank from the first digits?
- No. This site has no scheme BIN database and does not collect full card numbers.
- Do cards that share a BIN share the same acceptance rules?
- Often yes: merchants or issuers attach rules to a range. That is still their policy, not ISO’s definition of an IIN. This page does not promise another card will pay.
Official pages to verify
Sources and review
IIN definitions follow the ISO/IEC 7812-1:2017 catalogue page and EMVCo’s eight-digit IIN note. BIN ranges in authentication routing follow the use described on EMVCo’s 3DS page. Reviewed 14 October 2026. This site does not offer BIN lookup.