A Bank Identification Number, or BIN (also called an Issuer Identification Number, IIN), is the leading set of digits on a card number — usually the first six or eight — that identifies the card scheme, the issuing institution, the card product and the country of issue. Merchants and acquirers use the BIN for routing, risk scoring, fee calculation and to decide whether to apply surcharges or block certain card types.
Travel payments glossary
BIN (Bank Identification Number)
The first digits of a card number that identify the issuing institution.
Why it matters in travel
In travel, BIN data is useful for spotting consumer versus commercial cards, applying surcharge rules where they are still allowed, deciding when to trigger Strong Customer Authentication, and segmenting fraud risk by issuer country. A correct BIN lookup can also avoid sending an authorisation request that is sure to decline.
BIN intelligence shows up in places that finance teams do not always associate with payments. The cost difference between accepting a consumer credit card and a commercial card on a £4,000 holiday is real, and the right BIN logic can redirect the customer to a cheaper rail or apply the right surcharge before the booking commits. The wrong BIN logic leaves margin on the table booking after booking.
BIN ranges also change, sometimes quietly, as issuers reissue card portfolios. A scheme rebrand, a bank acquisition or a regulator-driven mass reissue can move thousands of cards from one BIN range to another overnight. Travel businesses that maintain their own BIN logic without a refreshed lookup quietly start mis-categorising cards — and the costs creep up before anyone notices.
How felloh helps
felloh keeps BIN-derived context such as issuer country and card product visible against each booking so finance and risk teams can answer questions about acceptance, fees and exposure without joining tables manually.
Where this shows up in finance operations.
BIN (Bank Identification Number) touches more than one workflow at felloh. Start with the pages most travel teams reach for next.
- Financial Operations
Reconciliation, settlement, refunds and protected-funds workflows on one booking-aware ledger.
Explore - Automate Reconciliation
Bulk settlements unpacked to fees, refunds and chargebacks; bank transfers matched without references to chase.
Explore - Know Your Cash Position
See received, protected, committed and available cash by booking — without rebuilding the picture from exports.
Explore
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Connect the dots.
See how payments, settlement, refunds and reporting evidence connect around every booking.