What do the first 4 digits of a credit card mean?
Daniel Santos
Updated on January 19, 2026
The first number. Visa starts with 4, a Mastercard is 5 and Discover is 6. Other numbers are used to identify the industry. The numeral 3 represents travel and entertainment, so it makes sense that this number also indicates it’s an American Express card. (AmEx cards largely focus on travel.)
What are the first 6 digits of your debit credit card?
The first 6 digits of a credit card number are known as the Issuer Identification Number (IIN), previously known as bank identification number (BIN), issued under the ISO/IEC 7812 standard. These identify the institution that issued the card to the card holder.
What do 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 numbers do different 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.
How do I find out what bank a credit card belongs to?
The first six digits of the whole number are the IIN, or “issuer identification number” (also known as the BIN, or “bank identification number”). These numbers identify the institution that issued the card.
What are the first 4 numbers of MasterCard?
So all MasterCard debit and credit card numbers start with 50, 51, 52, 53, 54 or 55 and are 16-digit long. The numbers are spaced in four groups of four digits each, like this: “5xxx xxxx xxxx xxxx”.
Can you give the first 6 digits of credit card?
The first 6 are the BIN number, but each bank has many, so they’re not as easy to guess. On the other hand, the missing 6 digits leave a million of options to brute force. Even if someone does guess your full credit card number – you’ll just cancel it and get a new one.
What kind of card starts with 4400?
For our “4400” card the first digit is a “4”. It turns out that if the first digit is a “4” then the card is always a Visa card. The first mystery is solved! A “4400” credit card is always a Visa card!
Which is the first credit card company in the US?
And Bank of America has actually been a leader in bringing consumer credit card protections to business credit cards. Barclays launched the first UK credit card program in 1966. And it moved into the U.S. market in 2004, with the purchase of Juniper Financial Corporation.
Which is the 5th largest credit card company in the US?
Capital One is the 5th largest U.S. credit card company in terms of outstanding balances and purchase volume. The company was established in 1995 and is based in McLean, VA. It has roughly 1,000 branch locations in the District of Columbia, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Texas and Virginia.
Who are the companies that issue credit cards?
Credit card issuers run the gamut, from name-brand banks like Chase, to networks like American Express, to hotels and gas stations and airlines. Below is a running list of companies with credit card offerings today. Don’t know your credit score? Find out with Experian.
Who is the parent company of Barclays credit card?
The company’s U.S. credit card division operated under the brand name “Barclaycard US” until 2008, when it took its parent’s name. Barclays is best known for its travel rewards credit cards as well as its suite of co-branded credit cards, issued in partnership with popular brands such as U.S. Airways, L.L. Bean, and the National Football League.