Did you know that by using the first 6 digits of a credit or debit card number, known as the BIN Number, you can determine several very interesting things that can help you in many different ways?
It can be a tool to:
- Reduce fraud,
- Selectively accept cards,
- Help your accountants, and
-
Target your marketing more effectively.
And it’s to help you gain these benefits that SecureTrading have introduced the Card Check Service.
How does it work?
All Payment card numbers conform to ISO 7812 and are made up of a number of parts including the BIN number which can tell you:
- The card type e.g. Electron, Maestro, Maestro Domestic, Credit, Debit and Solo etc.
- The issuing bank e.g. LloydsTSB, Bank of America, “la Caixa” etc.
- The country the card was issued.
-
If the card is a commercial card or not
The SecureTrading Card Check service is a pay as you go service available via My-ST or in real time through either of our integration methods. By using the real time service you will be able to set your own policies to determine the type of cards or locations from which you would like to accept transactions.
Why would I want to selectively select cards?
There are any number of reasons why you would want to accept only certain types of cards or accept/decline cards issued from certain countries.
For example, you may not ship to certain countries and therefore want to refuse the transaction before it is settled, rather than performing a refund. Alternatively, your product or service may only be legal in certain jurisdictions and you need to decline any transactions outside of these areas e.g. no US cards for gambling.
Can this prevent fraud?
Although checking the BIN will not definitively identify a fraudulent transaction, using the SecureTrading Card Check can help prevent fraud by identifying if the card has been issued in a different country to that given in the cardholder’s address. This could be a trigger to suspend the transaction for further investigation. In the majority of cases, a user will have a credit card issued in their own country of origin.
Please note that legitimate users sometimes do use a credit card from another country, therefore we do not recommend you decline a transaction based on the Card Check alone. The SecureTrading Card Check should be used alongside our other counter-fraud services to enable you to make the best decision.
How does it help my accountant?
Your acquirer may charge different prices for credit or debit transactions and it can be difficult to determine whether the charges have been applied correctly. The SecureTrading Card Check enables your accountant to identify exactly what cards have been processed.
How does it help me target my marketing?
By using the SecureTrading Card Check you can serve specific marketing messages based on the country of issue. Maybe you have a specific offer for non-UK customers (or only for UK customers). By using the SecureTrading Card Check to identify these merchants you can make these offers at the point of sale or follow these sales up with specific messages on your website or in subsequent marketing campaigns.
What Next?
For more information please contact our Sales team on 0800 028 9151 or email sales@securetrading.com.
