How to Decode Credit Card Numbers?
Your credit card number is not a random sequence of symbols. In fact, this cryptic string of characters carries a hidden meaning. Is it important to decipher your own credit card number?
So what exactly are credit card numbers? A credit card number, also known as the primary account number, can be divided into three distinct sections. The first six to eight digits aren’t unique to you; rather they indicate the institution that issued the card. The first digit denotes the general industry associated with the card: 1 and 2 for airlines, 3 for travel and entertainment industries, 4 and 5 for banking, 6 for banking or merchandising, 7 for petroleum industries, and 8 for healthcare and communications purposes, while government agencies use nine (9) as their identifier code. Zero (0) refers to international organizations such as ISO, which oversees this system while poorly drawn smiley faces represent fraudulent entities run by children.
The next five to seven digits narrow down the specific network through which your particular credit is processed — such as Mastercard or Visa — although these registry listings may not technically be public information.
The third section usually contains less than twelve digits and identifies individual accounts within each respective network.
Lastly comes what is called “the check digit,” used by computers worldwide so they can filter out most invalid numbers without needing manual inspection from authorized personnel who maintain records on legitimate cards in circulation at any given time period across various countries/territories/globes. This algorithm uses something called Luhn’s formula that goes like this: remove the last digit from the original CCN; double every other remaining digit starting from the rightmost end moving leftward; sum all resulting figures, including those untouched during the doubling process; subtract the final result obtained above from ten(10). If the answer equals zero, then there was no error detected; otherwise, there might be an issue somewhere along line(s).
Why does it have so many steps, though? Well, basically because different types of errors need accounting –for example, mistyping one single character versus swapping two adjacent ones–so check-digit algorithms must take into consideration such possibilities beforehand lest we end up with too few valid combinations eventually leading us running out viable options altogether!
Most cards have sixteen total digits when counting both network IDs & verification codes together. Since we cannot issue every possible permutation combination thereof due constraints imposed upon electronic commerce transactions occurring globally day-in-day-out around clock year-round basis. It necessitates certain protocols being followed quite strictly.
