What You Didnt Know About Your Credit Card Numbers

Have you ever really looked at your credit card and tried to figure out what that huge string of numbers really means? Do these card issuers have so many customers that your account number has to be 16 digits long?

You may be surprised to know that all those numbers you see actually do stand for something, and it's not just who you are. Let's take a look.

Most of the major credit card companies operate on the same system when choosing a credit card number. Other cards like gas cards, department store cards and phone cards go their own way. Let's concentrate on the ones that all play by the same rules.

The very first digit in the series will be a 3,4,5, 0r 6. This number designates the type of card as follows:

3 = a Travel & Entertainment Card like American Express or Diners Club.

4 = Visa and Visa-branded debit cards, cash cards, etc.

5 = MasterCard and MasterCard-branded debit cards, cash cards, etc.

6 = Discover

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 use either "34" or "37".

The remaining numbers in the series are used for different purposes depending upon the card type and issuer.

In most cases, the next group after the opening series of numbers represents the routing number of the card-issuing bank, the group after that is the user's account number, and the final digit is a check digit. The check digit is a number that is calculated by applying a special formula to all of the other numbers. The check digit is the result of that formula and is used as an anti-fraud check.

To keep things from getting too confusing, look at your card as you follow along for the next steps.

American Express

The American Express Card uses digits three and four for type (business or personal) and the currency of the cardholder's country of origin. The next digits from the fifth through the eleventh are account numbers.

Digits twelve through fourteen indicate the card number within the account and the last digit is the check digit.

Visa

With Visa, digits two through six represent the bank number. Beginning with the seventh digit and running through the twelfth or the fifteenth represents the account number and the last number is the check digit.

Since all Visa cards do not have the same amount of numbers in the sequence, the number of digits in a group may vary.

MasterCard

For MasterCard, the second digit, through to anywhere between the third and the sixth digit is the bank number. All remaining digits, except the check digit at the end of the series, identifies that cardholder's account.

Now that we've gone over it all, you're probably wondering why you were ever wondering in the first place. Just remember though, knowledge is power. Some things are just fun to know.

By Ewen Chia

Diposting oleh Affiliate di 00:10 0 komentar
Your Credit Rating and How To Check It

There is a lot of confusion surrounding UK credit ratings, credit scores, credit blacklists, credit reports, and credit files. This guide to your credit rating aims to give you the facts you need.

What's in a Credit File

There are two major credit reference agencies in the UK, Equifax and Experian, who maintain credit files on virtually every adult in the country.

Almost all companies that give you credit terms will supply information to one or both of these two credit agencies.

Therefore, your credit file is likely to contain information on all your existing credit and loan arrangements, such as personal loans, mortgages, credit and store cards, bank accounts, etc. In addition, your credit record will contain information on any late or missed payments and the amount of the original debt still outstanding.

The credit reference agency files also contain electoral roll information for your address and court records relating to you. It is this information which allows prospective lenders to confirm your address and also see if you have any outstanding CCJs (County Court Judgements).

Whenever a mortgage lender or other company is assessing an application for credit, they will check the details held on you by Equifax and/or Experian. The reason they do this is because, by law, they are not allowed to request any information about you from any other companies with whom you have a credit agreement.

Also, by contacting one of these two agencies they can gain access to your entire credit history with just a single request rather than having to gather the information from multiple sources.

Each time a lender makes a search of your credit file, that search will be recorded and added to your file, leaving a credit check "footprint". Therefore, it is easy for a prospective lender to see if someone has been "shopping around" for credit, and this in itself could be a deciding factor in whether or not they agree to give you a mortgage.

Your credit file will also include details of other people living at your address if they are financially linked to you, or if the credit reference agencies think they are financially linked to you. In this way, other people's bad credit history can sometimes drag down your credit score. But if you find you are wrongly linked to another individual, you can write to Experian and Equifax and ask them to correct the mistake.

How can I see my credit file and correct any mistakes?

Under the terms of the Data Protection Act, the credit reference agencies Equifax and Experian are required to provide you with a copy of the information they hold on you in return for a small administration fee. At the time of writing (2004) the fee for each agency is £2.

Your details are supplied by post, but you can request a copy of your file by telephone, post or email. Details or how to apply can be found on the Equifax and Experian websites.

Remember that because some companies supply information to Equifax, some to Experian, and some to both, you will need to order copies of your file from both agencies in order to get a full picture of your credit record.

Alternatively, there are online services that will allow you to undergo a free credit score check, as well as download (for a fee) a copy of your full credit report.

If, after having obtained a copy of your credit file, you find that it contains errors, you can take the matter up with Equifax and/or Experian and ask them to correct the mistakes. Full details of the procedure for correcting your file are available on the companies' websites and are also sent in the post along with the copy of your credit file.

Credit scores, credit ratings, and credit blacklists

First of all, let's dispel a popular myth.

A lot of people think that there is a "blacklist" you can end up on if you have a particularly poor credit history, and that if you are on this list you will automatically be refused credit.

This is simply not true - there is no such thing as a credit blacklist. If you have been refused a mortgage or other form of credit, the reason will be because your credit score was not high enough.

When a lender requests information about you from a credit reference agency, they apply a mathematical formula to that information in order to give you a credit score. Different lenders will use slightly different factors to create the score.

Also, the definition of a good or acceptable score will vary from one mortgage lender to another. Therefore, it is quite possible to be turned down by one lender but be accepted for a mortgage by another.

Given that you are potentially worsening your credit score every time you approach a lender about a mortgage and they run a credit check on you, and given that different lenders will have different criteria for assessing your credit worthiness, it makes sense to talk to the experts right from the start if you are looking to take out a mortgage but suspect you may be hampered by a poor credit record.

If you're worried that a poor credit record may affect your ability to obtain a mortgage or remortgage, you should take the time to find a mortgage adviser who specialises in finding mortgages and remortgages for people with credit problems.