Card Brand Prefix Lookup
Identify the card network from a PAN prefix using the full published prefix allocation for each network.
How this tool works
This tool returns the prefix ranges allocated to a brand, which is the reverse of a prefix lookup: instead of asking what a prefix is, it asks what a brand covers. It is the useful direction when you are building a rule, checking a claim about a network's footprint, or looking for an unassigned gap.
The allocations are not contiguous and they are not evenly distributed. A brand's space is a set of blocks spread across the prefix space, interleaved with other brands and with ranges allocated to other purposes, and a gap inside a brand's coverage is either unallocated or held by someone else.
What a brand range returns
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Brand | Visa |
| Ranges held | A count of the blocks in the range space |
| Issuing countries | The countries the brand operates in |
| Product mix | The types and levels allocated to it |
The ranges a brand holds are blocks in the shared prefix space, not a private space of its own.
When to use it
- See a brand's footprint across the prefix space
- Find a gap in a brand's coverage
- Build a rule that recognises a brand from a prefix
- Check the size of a network's allocation
Frequently asked questions
What does a brand prefix lookup return?
The prefix ranges a brand holds, the countries it operates in and the product mix allocated to it, read from the same dataset as an individual prefix lookup.
Are a brand's ranges contiguous?
No. A brand's allocation is a set of blocks spread across the prefix space and interleaved with other brands, so it is not a single identifiable region of numbers.
Why does a brand have so many separate ranges?
Because ranges are allocated over time, in the order issuers asked for them, and an issuer rarely wants a block that is adjacent to a competitor's.
Can I use this to build a brand detection rule?
Yes, and it is better than a first-digit rule, which is only a family indicator. The ranges are exact.
How many brands are covered?
71, which includes the four global networks and a large number of national and regional schemes.