What 4 numbers do credit cards start with?
Daniel Santos
Updated on February 04, 2026
The first number. Visa starts with 4, a Mastercard is 5 and Discover is 6. Other numbers are used to identify the industry. For instance, 1 and 2 are used for the airline industry. The numeral 3 represents travel and entertainment, so it makes sense that this number also indicates it’s an American Express card.
What is 4 digit primary card number in credit card?
4 is for Visa, 5 is for MasterCard, 3 for american express. Technically it is called the Major Industry Identifier. For Visa and Mastercard networks, the next 5 digits comprise the Bank Identification Number. If the first digit is 4, that indicates that the card is part of Visa Network.
What does Mastercard numbers start with?
5
First number If it’s a Visa card, it will always start with a 4, while Mastercards generally start with a 5 — although in 2017 Mastercard started issuing some of its numbers starting with 2. Here are starting numbers for major credit card issuers in the United States.
What number do credit scores start with?
Most in the U.S. start at 300, and sometimes lower, depending on the scoring system — so you can’t have a credit score of zero. Some credit scores, such as Bankcard and Auto scores, can range from 250-900. Before your information appears in a credit bureau file, your credit history simply doesn’t exist yet.
What number do credit cards start with?
The First Number With the exception of store-specific credit cards, which don’t conform to the same rules, most consumers will only ever encounter cards that begin with 3, 4, 5 and 6. These numbers generally correspond with the four major card networks: Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover.
What does the number 4 on a credit card mean?
For example, if your card begins with the number 4, it’s a Visa; a 5, a MasterCard; a 6, Discover; and 34 or 37, American Express (clearly the credit card number diva here with two starter digits). But here’s where the breakdown gets slightly different with each card.
What is the first four digits of a Visa card?
Visa – Digits two through six are the bank number, digits seven through 12 or seven through 15 are the account number and digit 13 or 16 is a check digit. MasterCard – Digits two and three, two through four, two through five or two through six are the bank number (depending on whether digit two is a 1, 2, 3 or other).
What do the first two digits on a credit card mean?
This is where the function of each digit becomes important. The first digit or two of a credit card number sequence indicates the card issuer. For example, if your card begins with the number 4, it’s a Visa; a 5, a MasterCard; a 6, Discover; and 34 or 37, American Express…
What is the first four digits of an American Express card?
American Express – Digits three and four are type and currency, digits five through 11 are the account number, digits 12 through 14 are the card number within the account and digit 15 is a check digit. The structure of the card number varies by system. For example, American Express card numbers start with 37; Carte Blanche and Diners Club with 38.