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A card is an instrument used for payments. It can be in different forms, such as:
  • Plastic: This is the physical form of the card.
  • Virtual: The card is not delivered physically, yet you can see the card layout in the issuer-provided channel (mobile or web application).
  • Tokenised: The card is provisioned to digital wallets in devices like smart watches and mobile phones.
Each card is issued with its own unique card number, called a Primary Account Number (PAN). If a card is lost, stolen, or compromised, it is replaced with a new card that has a new PAN. Each card is associated with an account and a cardholder.

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Features

Primary features of a card are as follows:
  • Cardholder ID and Account ID: A card is associated with a cardholder (cardholderID) and an account (accountId).
  • Card ID: Each card is assigned a unique cardID, used for the card identification.
  • Primary Account Number: We generate the Primary Account Number (PAN) of a card from a predefined number range; the range is based on the Bank Identification Number (BIN) range assigned to the issuer by the Scheme. The first 6 to 8 digits of the Primary Account Number are predefined and the rest of the numbers are randomly generated. The entire PAN is Payment Card Industry (PCI) protected information and hence, it is always sent in a masked format via the API — maskedPAN.
  • Card Status: Indicates the card state. For more information, see Card Status.
  • Card Version: A card can have multiple versions. For more information, see Card Version Status.

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Card Type — Plastic/Virtual

  • A plastic card can also have a virtual form, where cardholders can view the card data (like PAN, CVV2, CVC2) and layout on the issuer-provided mobile and/or web applications.
  • Both plastic and virtual cards can have be provisioned to digital wallets.
  • To provision a card (plastic/virtual) to digital wallet, the card must be associated with a cardholder.
The following table explains the similarities and differences between a physical and a virtual card: