Discover credit card account number and routing number

Plenty of people ask whether or not routing numbers exist on a credit card. It’s an understandable question for those unfamiliar with the nuances of each type of banking solution.

Simply put: no, credit cards don’t have routing numbers. But what they do have to connect it to an account, and what makes a routing number unique, make for some interesting questions. Let’s go through the answers.

What is a routing number?

A nine-digit number used to identify a bank or financial institution in the United States is called a routing number. It’s a necessary piece of information when clearing funds for online transfers and when processing checks.

Clearinghouses rely on the routing number to accurately process financial transactions. Online banking will also be unable to function in the absence of routing numbers.

Not all financial institutions have a routing number, though. Only federally-chartered and state-chartered banks are eligible to maintain an account at a Federal Reserve Bank are issued routing numbers.

When setting up a wire transfer, routing numbers play an essential role. There’s no physical currency that moves between banks when a transfer is conducted. It’s the information that’s transmitted from one bank to another.

A transaction must have the correct routing number in order to go through without any issues. Routing numbers are also used in direct deposits from employers to their employees’ bank accounts as well as  for income tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service.

Routing numbers may not always be referred to as such. There are a few terms that are used by the industry for the same nine-digit number, including routing transit numbers and even ABA numbers. ABA is an acronym for the American Bankers Association, a nod to the fact that it was the ABA that established routing numbers back in 1910.

How to find your account routing number

Whenever you open an account at a financial institution, they give you documentation that provides detailed information about the services that you just signed up for. This will include the relevant account number that was assigned to that new account and the routing number you’ll need for transfers and direct deposits.

Another way to find the routing number is to take a look at your checkbook. The first nine digits on the far left of the bottom of the check represent the routing number.

The first four of the nine digits designate the Federal Reserve Bank of the district where the financial institution is located. The next four digits denote the bank while the last digit classifies whether it’s a check or a negotiable instrument.

Financial institutions have also made it easier to locate important information about your accounts through their online portals and mobile applications. If you’ve signed up for these services, you can easily find your routing number through the online portal or app.

Credit cards don’t have routing numbers. The fact remains that credit cards also don’t need them. As we’ve previously discussed, routing numbers are only required for transferring funds between accounts through wire transfers, checks, etc. That’s not what a credit card is for.

It’s easy to understand where the misconception about credit cards having routing numbers comes from. All credit cards have a 16 digit number attached to them. They can either be on the front or the back of the card.

Some modern cards go for a minimal aesthetic and don’t list any numbers on the card itself, opting to provide that information to customers through an app instead.

What credit cards do have are account numbers. This number acts as the link between the credit card issuer and the cardholder. This information is essential for processing payments.The very first digit of the card number identifies the type of card. If the number starts with 3 then it’s an American Express card. Visa cards start with the number four while a Mastercard begins with five. Discover cards begin with the number six.

The next six to eight numbers are what’s referred to as the issuer identification number. They are also known as a bank identification number. These numbers are used to identify the financial institution that issued the credit card.

The remaining digits are unique to every cardholder and identify the customer’s specific credit account at their financial institution. These digits are selected by the card issuer as a way to signify your account number.

Why don’t Credit Cards have a routing number?

The purpose of a credit card is not to send wire transfers or direct deposits. The customer isn’t spending their own money when they use a credit card for a purchase. It’s the bank that grants them a certain credit limit that they can utilize every month.

Whenever the card is used for payment, it’s the bank that pays off the merchant in full. The cardholder doesn’t need to pay the bank immediately. It’s only when their billing cycle comes around is the bank is then required to be paid for the funds that it has already paid on behalf of the customer to the merchant. 

In such a transaction, a routing number is not required. Credit card payment settlement mechanisms are entirely different from wire transfers and direct deposits. They’re not reliant on a routing number to process the transactions. That’s why credit cards don’t have a routing number. 

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