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FAQ #1091 Diff

What are acceptable formats for truncation of primary account numbers?

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ThisAcceptable truncation formats vary according to PAN length and Participating Payment Brand requirements.

A maximum of the first 6 and last 4 digits of the PAN is the starting baseline for entities to retain after truncation, considering the business needs and purposes for which the PAN is used.
When more digits of the PAN are necessary for business functions, entities should consult the table below for the acceptable formats for each Participating Payment Brand.

| PAN / BIN Length | Payment Brand | Acceptable PAN Truncation Formats |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 16-digit PAN (with either 6- or 8-digit BIN) | Discover JCB Mastercard UnionPay Visa | At least 4 digits removed. Maximum digits which may be retained: 'First 8, any other 4' |
| 15-digit PAN | American Express | At least 5 digits removed. Maximum digits which may be retained: 'First 6, last 4' |
| <15-digit PAN | Discover | Maximum digits which may be retained: 'First 6, any other 4' |

When using truncation formats for purposes other than storage, or for PAN lengths not covered within this FAQ, entities should confirm that their format is compatible with each of the applicable Participating Payment Brands. Contact information for the Participating Payment Brands can be found in FAQ reflects updates as of January 2022 for acceptable1142 How do I contact the payment card brands?Access to different truncation formats forof the same PAN greatly increases the ability to reconstruct full PAN, and the security value provided by an individual truncated PAN is significantly reduced. Information about the use of different PAN / BIN lengths.

Acceptable truncation formats vary accordingof the same PAN can be found in FAQ 1117 Are truncated Primary Account Numbers (PAN) required to PAN length and Participating Payment Brand requirements.


A maximum of the first 6 and last 4 digits of the PAN is the starting baseline for entities to retain after truncation, considering the business needs and purposes for which the PAN is used.


When more digits of the PAN are necessary for business functions, entities should consult the table below for the acceptable formats for each Participating Payment Brand.




PAN / BIN Length
Payment Brand
Acceptable PAN Truncation Formats




 
 
 



16-digit PAN (with either 6- or 8-digit BIN)






Discover
JCB
Mastercard
UnionPay
Visa






At least 4 digits removed.Maximum digits which may be retained:
?First 8, any other 4”








15-digit PAN






American Express






At least 5 digits removed.Maximum digits which may be retained:
?First 6, last 4?








<15-digit PAN






Discover






Maximum digits which may be retained:
?First 6, any other 4?






When using truncation formats for purposes other than storage, or for PAN lengths not covered within this FAQ, entities should confirm that their format is compatibleprotected in accordance with each of the applicable Participating Payment Brands. Contact information for the Participating Payment Brands can be found in FAQ 1142How do I contact the payment card brands?

Note: Access to different truncation formats of the same PAN greatly increases the ability to reconstruct full PAN, and the security value provided by an individual truncated PAN is significantly reduced. If the same PAN is truncated using more than one truncation format (for example, different truncation formats are used on different systems), additional controls should be in place to ensure that the truncated versions cannot be correlated to reconstruct additional digits of the original PAN.PCI DSS?

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