DE Field Builder

Build and format ISO 8583 data elements for payment message processing.

ISO 8583 Data Element Builder

Create properly formatted data elements for ISO 8583 transaction messages.

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Field Value

Field Information

Name: DE 2 - Primary Account Number (PAN)

Description: The card number used in the transaction

Format: n..19

Length: Variable (up to 19 digits)

Understanding ISO 8583 Data Elements

What are ISO 8583 Data Elements?

ISO 8583 is an international standard for financial transaction card originated messages. It is used by payment systems to exchange electronic transactions made by cardholders. Each message contains a set of data elements (DEs) that carry specific information about the transaction.

Data Element Structure

Each data element in ISO 8583 has specific characteristics:

Field Number: A unique identifier (1-128) that corresponds to a bit position in the bitmap
Format: The data type (numeric, alphanumeric, binary, etc.)
Length: Fixed or variable length
Length Indicator: For variable length fields, a prefix that indicates the actual length

Common Data Elements

Some frequently used data elements in ISO 8583 messages include:

DE 2: Primary Account Number (PAN) - The card number
DE 3: Processing Code - Indicates the type of transaction
DE 4: Transaction Amount - The amount of the transaction
DE 7: Transmission Date and Time - When the message was sent
DE 11: System Trace Audit Number (STAN) - A unique transaction identifier
DE 12: Local Transaction Time - Time of the transaction
DE 13: Local Transaction Date - Date of the transaction
DE 22: Point of Service Entry Mode - How the card data was captured
DE 37: Retrieval Reference Number - A reference for the transaction
DE 38: Authorization Identification Response - The approval code
DE 39: Response Code - Indicates the result of the transaction
DE 41: Card Acceptor Terminal Identification - Terminal ID
DE 42: Card Acceptor Identification Code - Merchant ID
DE 43: Card Acceptor Name/Location - Merchant name and address
DE 49: Transaction Currency Code - Currency of the transaction
DE 54: Additional Amounts - Other amounts related to the transaction
DE 55: ICC Data - EMV chip data
DE 61: Point-of-Service (POS) Data - Additional terminal data

Data Element Formats

ISO 8583 defines several formats for data elements:

a: Alpha (letters only)
n: Numeric (digits only)
s: Special characters
an: Alphanumeric (letters and digits)
as: Alpha and special characters
ns: Numeric and special characters
ans: Alphanumeric and special characters
b: Binary data
z: Tracks 2 and 3 code set

Length Encoding

Variable length fields include a length indicator at the beginning of the field. The length indicator itself can be of different sizes:

..L: 1-digit length indicator (up to 9 characters)
..LL: 2-digit length indicator (up to 99 characters)
..LLL: 3-digit length indicator (up to 999 characters)

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