Primary Account Number

Primary Account Number (PAN) is a unique identifier assigned to a payment card, which typically consists of 16 digits. It is used to identify the issuer of the card and the individual account associated with it. The first six digits represent the Issuer Identification Number (IIN), while the remaining digits specify the individual account.

For example, in the PAN 1234 5678 9012 3456:

• 123456: Issuer Identification Number (IIN)
• 7890123456: Individual Account Number

Cases where PAN is utilized include:

• Payment Processing: PAN is used in transactions to process payments.
• Fraud Detection: Monitoring transactions linked to a specific PAN helps detect unauthorized use.
• Card Issuance: Banks and Financial Institutions assign a PAN when issuing new cards.