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0% APR Credit Cards: How Can They Do That?
During the days when the federal bank interest rates were at its
lowest, back in 2002 and 2003 to be specific, countless credit
card providers offered 0% APR credit cards to many consumers.
Needing only to pay the outstanding balance, smart...
Applying For A Credit Card With No Credit History
Oddly enough, not only will bad credit work against you when applying for a loan or a credit card, but no credit will too. Even though this doesn't seem fair, it is the way things work in the complicated world of consumer credit. Lenders are leery...
Establishing Credit, the Great Task
"How do I establish credit, when I don't have a credit history"?
This is probably the most commonly asked question by most
consumers looking to open a credit account. Not having credit
can be just as difficult as having bad credit unless you...
Finding and Getting Bad Credit Loans
If you don't know where to turn for bad credit loans, you're not alone. Thousands of people struggle with their finances month after month, weighted down by a credit rating that they don't know how to fix. Bad credit loans can be found in several...
Home Owners Avoiding Complications in Credit Repair
Avoiding complications in credit repair is almost important as
getting out of debt. When we have bills that were neglected
simply because we didn't have the money to pay the bills, or
else we purchased items instead of paying the bills, we are...
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The Meaning of Credit Card Numbers
If you take a close look at your credit cards, you'll probably wonder what all those numbers stand for. Every digit actually stands for something specific. Let's have a look at each of those numbers in sequence.
The First Digit
Gasoline cards, department store cards and phone cards have their own programs.
The major credit card companies operate on a standardized system for assigning credit card numbers. The first digit in the series will always be a 3, 4, 5 or 6. This number designates the type of card you have. For instance, a 3 means it's a travel and entertainment card, such as American Express or Diners Club. A 4 is Visa and Visa-branded debit cards, cash cards; a 5 is MasterCard and MasterCard-branded debit cards, cash cards; and 6 is Discover.
The Other Numbers
American Express and Diners Club use the second digit to identify the company. That means that Diners Club cards will start with either 36 or 38, and American Express cards will lead off with 34 or 37.
The remaining numbers in the series are used for other purposes, depending upon the card type and issuer. Generally, the numbers grouped after the opening series is the routing number of the bank and the next group is the user's account number. The final digit is special -- a check
digit. This is a number calculated by applying a specific formula, and it is used as a fraud check.
Look At Your Card
American Express uses digits 3 and 4 for business or personal card type and the currency of the cardholder's country of origin. Digits 5 through 11 are the account number. Digits 12 through 14 show the card number attached to that account. The last digit is, of course, the check digit.
Visa uses digits 2 through 6 for the bank number. Beginning with digit 7 and running through 12 or 15, they're the account number, and the last number is the check digit. The number of digits in a group may vary because Visa cards don't all have the same number of digits.
With MasterCard, the second digit through digit 3 (to as high as 6) is the bank number. All remaining digits, except the end check digit, identifies the cardholder's account.
And that's it. A slightly complex system necessary to track billions of credit cards across the globe.
About the Author
Ron King is a full-time researcher, writer, and web developer. Visit http://www.new-credit-card-now.com to learn more about this fascinating subject.
Copyright 2005 Ron King. This article may be reprinted if the resource box is left intact.
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