What your card number means?

Most national credit-card systems use ANSI Standard X4.13-1983.

• The first digit in your credit-card number signifies the system:
  • 3 - travel/entertainment cards (such as American Express and Diners Club)
  • 4 - Visa
  • 5 - MasterCard
  • 6 - Discover Card

• The structure of the card number varies by system. For example, American Express card numbers start with 37; Carte Blanche and Diners Club with 38.
• American Express -
  
• Digits three and four: Type and currency,
  
• Digits five through 11: The account number,
  
• Digits 12 through 14: The card number within the account
• Digit 15 is a check digit.
• Visa -
  
• Digits two through six are the bank number,
  
• Digits seven through 12 or seven through 15 are the account number
  
• Digit 13 or 16 is a check digit.
• MasterCard -
  
• Digits two and three, two through four, two through five or two through six are the bank number (depending on whether digit two is a 1, 2, 3 or other).
  
• The digits after the bank number up through digit 15 are the account number,
  
• Digit 16 is a check digit.

How Credit Card Works?

Credit card gives you freedom to shop even if you dont have a single penny in your pocket at the moment. This is because u do not have to pay any amount right away nor the money has to be in the bank account at the moment like debit cards. (In the case of debit cards the money immediately gets deducted from the bank account).

So how does the seller gets money? Is he giving the stuff for free and waiting for the payment till you drop the payment check.

The answer is NO. The seller gets the money immediately; not from your pocket but the card issuing company pays it for u. Its like, the issuer lends money to the consumer (or the user) to be paid to the merchant.