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Debit cards also referred to as ATM cards or Automated Teller Machine cards, are given out by financial organizations to those who have accounts with them.
When you have a debit card, you may conveniently carry out a wide range of tasks, such as making cash withdrawals at ATMs without having to go to the bank, online purchases from the convenience of your home, utility bill payment, and grocery among many other tasks.
For someone who frequently carries out online transactions with their debit card, you probably have seen some digits engraved on your ATM cards. Most of them have the digits written on both sides; the front and rear parts of the card.
In case all you do with your ATM cards is make cash withdrawals at ATMs or point-of-sale (POS) transactions, you might be unaware of the existence and significance of these numbers on your debit card.
Debit and Credit card number, CVV, and Expiry date explained
What a Debit card is and what it looks like
A few debit cards are made of a lighter kind of metal, but a lot of them are usually plastic. Regardless of the material they’re made of, one thing that’s for sure is that all of them have certain digits printed or engraved on them.
Debit card numbers serve the dual functions of identifying an account and ensuring security.
Your account details can be quickly accessed by simply checking these digits. Similarly, your account’s funds can be accessible with all of those digits as well.
Let’s discuss the numbers you might typically find on a debit card in more detail, including what they represent, why they are significant, and how to locate them.
What is A Debit Card Number?
Your debit card’s front has a 16-digit number called the “Card number,” which is frequently arranged in groups of four.
Your card’s magnetic chip/strip also stores this number, which is also known as your Card Identification number, so that anytime you swipe your card at a POS or an ATM station, the machine can read your card number.
Your card’s 16-digit number may appear to be just another set of digits, but it has a deeper meaning. Simply put, there’s a meaning to every number or collection of numbers on your debit card
The First Six Digits
In simple terms, the first six digits of your debit card’s 16-digit number give you information about the organization or corporation that issued the card to you. It’s also known as the Issuer Identification Number (IIN) and is made up of these initial six digits.
The first six numbers of your debit card identify the bank that issues it when you use it at POS and ATM terminals.
Following are a few of the more notable card issuers and the numbers that make up their IINs:
- VISA (Usually, the first six digits start with 4, as in 458976).
- MasterCard (Typically, the first six numbers begin with 5, as in 5378 67).
However, the first number of these six (6) digits may differ depending on the company that issued the card in the first place.
What the First Digit means
The first digit of a 16-digit debit card number is initially selected by the industry to which the card’s issuer belongs, such as banking and finance, Airlines, to mention but a few.
Your debit card’s major industry identifier (MII) is the first digit.
Below is a list of the first numbers used on debit cards issued by the various sectors of society:
1 = ISO and other industries
2 = Airlines
3 = Airlines and other industries
4 = Travels and entertainment (American Express or Food Club)
5 = Banking and Finance (VISA)
6 = Banking and Finance (Master Card)
7 = Banking and Merchandising
8 = Petroleum
9 = Telecommunications and other industries
10 = National Assignment
What the 7th to 15th Digit mean
Your debit card’s first six digits are associated with the company that issued the card. The next nine digits—from seventh to fifteenth—are associated with the account you have with that Company.
Please be aware that this is not your account number. Additionally, these digits contain no information about you or your bank account.
What the Last or 16th Digit mean
Your debit card’s sixteenth digit, which is the last one, is used to verify the card’s authenticity. It’s called the Check Digit. Check Digit checks card numbers to make sure they are accurate and input correctly.
CVV explained
The Card Verification Value is abbreviated as CVV. The back of your card will always have a three-digit number called the CVV. Most online transactions, including purchasing, paying bills and subscriptions, etc., require it, and it is frequently printed in strong italics.
Debit card CVV numbers from some banks, including American Express, are made up of four digits, albeit this is uncommon.
To further confirm that you are the cardholder of the one you use for online transactions, CVV serves as a security and fraud-prevention strategy. Typically, CVV codes are required when using an electronic debit card. You’ll be asked for the card’s CVV number as an added degree of security to make sure you have the card in your possession.
Expiration Date Explained
On most debit cards, the expiration date is written on a card as two digits (which stand for the month), followed by another two digits (which stand for the year), split by a hyphen (-), or a forward slash (/). It’s found on the front part of the debit card.
The day that a card will no longer be usable for transactions is referred to as the expiration date. A debit card’s validity for any kind of transaction you want to make after this date will expire.
Usually, the card’s issuing institution informs the cardholder early enough and produces a replacement card before the expiration of a debit card. After that, a new 16-digit debit card number, CVV, and expiration date will all be included with the new card.
Expiration dates are used by the organization to make sure that users have cards with the most recent security features, card designs, and functionally “better for you cards because older cards gradually deteriorate and become invalid over the years.
Conclusion
Your debit card has three crucial pieces of information that you should safeguard carefully and keep safely. That’s the debit card number, expiration date, and CVV.
These numbers are confidential and should not be shared with anybody besides you. They not only reveal information about your account but also contain crucial security information.
