Card Country Lookup
Reference list of common BIN-to-country assignments. Verify against a current database.
BIN-to-country mapping is not fixed; issuers reorganise portfolios. Use the BIN Lookup tool for a specific prefix. Below is a coarse reference.
| BIN prefix | Common country |
|---|---|
| 4 (Visa) | USA, UK, EU, worldwide |
| 51-55 (MC) | USA, UK, EU, worldwide |
| 34/37 (AMEX) | USA, UK, EU |
| 6011/65 (Discover) | USA |
| 62 (UnionPay) | China |
| 35 (JCB) | Japan |
| 2200-2204 (Mir) | Russia |
| 60/81-89 (RuPay) | India |
How this tool works
The country in a BIN record is the country of the issuing institution, not the country of the brand and not the country of the cardholder. That distinction is the reason the field is worth having: a card issued in one country by a global network can carry a global brand, and the country of issue is what determines the regulatory regime and the local acceptance rules.
The lookup takes a prefix and returns the country along with the issuer and the product details, and it is the same record that the issuer pages and the country pages are built from. A country page in the dataset is the reverse view of the same data, showing which issuers operate there and how much of the prefix space they hold.
Country and issuer together
| Prefix | Country | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
| 424242 | GB | A UK issuer |
| 510510 | US | A US issuer |
| 371449 | US | A US issuer |
| 400000 | DE | A German issuer |
The country of issue follows the institution, so it is the field that tells you which national rules apply.
When to use it
- Confirm the country of issue behind a card
- Check a listing's claim about where a card was issued
- Group a set of prefixes by country
- See which issuers operate in a market
Frequently asked questions
What does the country field in BIN data mean?
The country of the issuing institution, using the ISO 3166 code. It is not the country of the brand and not the country the cardholder is in.
Why does the country of issue matter?
It determines which national regulation applies to the card, which affects the consumer protection the cardholder gets and the rules the issuer operates under.
Can a card be issued in a country other than the brand's home?
Yes, and most cards are. A local bank issues a card carrying a global network's mark, which is what co-branding is, and the country follows the issuer.
How many countries does the dataset cover?
225, with a country page for each, listing the brands present, the types issued, the largest issuers and sample ranges.
Does a country page give a complete list of every issuer there?
It gives the largest issuers, and the issuing bank directory lists every institution with a significant allocation across all countries.