Definition

Bank Identification Number (BIN) refers to the first (6 to 8) digits of a payment card number that identify the bank/institution that issued the card. For clarity, Issuing BIN will be used to describe the card issuing bank identification number.

Note: Visa has also used the term BIN with reference to acquiring banks as Acquiring BIN; this is not the same as the Issuing BIN described here. For disambiguation (clarity), the term Acquiring Identifier should be used instead.