Card tools

TEST Card Generator & Validator

Luhn
Generate or validate test PANs for Visa, Mastercard, Amex, JCB, CUP, Diners, RuPay — not real cards, not for live purchases.

Validate

check digit

Never enter a real card number. Paste a test PAN to verify the Luhn check digit.

ready

Full BIN / prefix ranges · Wikipedia: payment card numbers

Generate

test PAN

Pick a brand prefix and generate a Luhn-valid test number (random, unassigned).

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All data on this page is for testing only — not real, cannot be used for purchases.

Full product: Cards Issuing Host

Card Number (PAN)
4430 4364 4802 8017   
Expiration date MM/YY
07/30
Michele Culton
 563
CVV / CVC

What a payment card is

technical

A payment card is a portable credential that identifies an account at an issuer (bank or scheme partner). The visible “card number” is the PAN (Primary Account Number), defined by ISO/IEC 7812.

  • IIN / BIN — first 6–8 digits: issuer / brand range (e.g. Visa often starts with 4)
  • Account identifier — middle digits assigned by the issuer
  • Check digit — last digit from the Luhn algorithm (ISO/IEC 7812-1)
PAN = [ IIN/BIN ] + [ account ] + [ Luhn check digit ]
Example Visa: 4xxx xxxx xxxx xxxC

Physically

plastic / chip

A typical embossed or printed card is a layered plastic body with several data carriers:

  • Front print / embossing — PAN, name, expiry (MM/YY)
  • Magnetic stripe (ISO 7813) — Track 1 & Track 2 for swipe / fallback
  • EMV chip — secure element; cryptograms (ARQC), offline PIN, contact/contactless
  • Signature panel + CVV2/CVC2 — printed code for card-not-present
  • Contactless antenna — NFC / ISO 14443 for tap payments

How it works (data path)

ISO8583

At authorization time the terminal (or e‑commerce gateway) collects card data and builds a message — often ISO8583 — toward the acquirer → scheme → issuer.

  1. Read PAN (+ chip DE55 / track / keyed entry)
  2. Add amount, merchant, terminal, cryptogram or CVV as required
  3. Host validates format, Luhn (sometimes), BIN routing, fraud rules
  4. Issuer checks account, PIN/cryptogram, available funds → approve/decline
Card → Terminal/PSP → Acquirer → Scheme → Issuer
        ←——————— response (00/05/…) ←———————

Security codes & tracks

CVV / magstripe
  • CVV/CVC — derived for the stripe (service code + expiry + CVK)
  • CVV2/CVC2 — printed; used online / MOTO (service code often 000 in the formula)
  • iCVV / dCVV — chip / dynamic variants
  • Track 2 — compact: PAN=YYMM + service code + discretionary

This generator only builds Luhn-valid PANs plus mock expiry/CVV/name for display — it does not mint real CVKs or tracks.

How cards are used

channels

Same PAN can travel through different acceptance channels:

  • Card-present — chip (preferred), contactless, or magstripe fallback
  • Card-not-present — e‑commerce / MOTO with PAN + expiry + CVV2, often 3‑D Secure
  • Token / wallet — device PAN (DPAN) instead of the real account number
  • ATM / cash — PIN + chip or stripe
  • Recurring / COF — stored credentials with scheme mandates

Who touches the transaction

roles
  • Cardholder — owns the account
  • Merchant / PSP — accepts payment, captures data
  • Acquirer — merchant’s bank / processor
  • Scheme — Visa, Mastercard, Amex, … routing & rules
  • Issuer — cardholder’s bank; final approve/decline
  Why test PANs

Valid but not real

Processors reject numbers that fail the Luhn check. These generators produce check-digit–valid PANs so your test flow can proceed.

Do not use a real card for testing or on untrusted sites.

Numbers are random with brand prefixes — valid but unassigned, extremely unlikely to match a live account.

  Features

What you get

  • Luhn-valid Visa / Mastercard / Amex / JCB / CUP / Diners / RuPay prefixes
  • Validate an existing test PAN (or get the corrected check digit)
  • Random expiry (~4 years out), CVV, and cardholder name on the mock plastic
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