Visa Test Card Numbers: Generate & Validate Visa Cards for Testing

If you're testing a payment form, building a checkout flow, or running QA on an e-commerce platform, you need Visa test card numbers. Not real ones — valid-format test numbers that pass client-side validation without touching anyone's bank account.

Visa is the world's most widely accepted card network. That means it's also the one your payment integration will encounter most often. Getting Visa test data right isn't optional — it's step one.

This guide covers everything: Visa card structure, official test numbers from every major gateway, how to generate your own with Namso Gen, BIN ranges by issuer and country, and validation rules. Bookmark it. You'll come back.

How Visa Card Numbers Work

Every Visa card number follows a precise structure defined by the ISO/IEC 7812 standard. Understanding it makes you a better tester because you'll know why certain numbers pass validation and others don't.

The Visa Number Structure

Key facts about Visa numbers:

• Always start with 4. If it doesn't start with 4, it's not Visa. Period.
• 16 digits is standard for modern Visa cards. Legacy cards used 13 digits, but those are nearly extinct in the wild.
• Visa Electron cards also start with 4 but use specific BIN ranges (4026, 4175, 4508, 4844, 4913, 4917).
• The check digit (last digit) is calculated via the Luhn algorithm, not random. This is why you can't just make up 16 digits starting with 4 and expect them to pass validation.

BIN Ranges: What the First 6–8 Digits Tell You

The BIN (Bank Identification Number) encodes the issuing bank, card type, and country. Since April 2022, the industry has been transitioning from 6-digit to 8-digit BINs (now called IINs — Issuer Identification Numbers), though 6-digit BINs are still widely used.

For Visa, the BIN always starts with 4. Beyond that:

For a deeper dive into BIN structure across all networks, check our complete BIN guide. To look up what bank a specific BIN belongs to, use our BIN Checker.

Official Visa Test Card Numbers by Gateway

Every major payment gateway provides sandbox test cards. Here are the Visa-specific ones you'll use most often.

Stripe

Stripe's Visa test suite is the most comprehensive. The 4242 card is the one developers reach for instinctively — it's the "hello world" of payment testing.

PayPal (Braintree Sandbox)

Adyen

Square

Checkout.com

MercadoPago (Latin America)

Pro tip: Gateway test cards only work in sandbox/test mode. They'll always fail in production. For broader testing — form validation, load testing, BIN-specific scenarios — you need to generate your own. That's where Namso Gen comes in.

Generate Custom Visa Test Cards with Namso Gen

Gateway test cards cover the basics, but real-world testing demands more. What if you need:

• 50 Visa cards for a load test?
• Cards from a specific BIN (say, a Chase Visa or a UK-issued Visa)?
• Cards that match a particular format (16 digits, specific expiry range)?
• Test data for multiple Visa subtypes (Classic, Gold, Platinum, Electron)?

Namso Gen generates Luhn-valid Visa card numbers in bulk. Here's how.

Step 1: Enter a Visa BIN

Go to namso.io and enter a BIN starting with 4. For example:

Not sure which BIN to use? Look one up with the BIN Checker or check our BIN guide for common ranges.

Step 2: Configure Generation

• Quantity: Set how many cards you need (1 to hundreds for bulk testing).
• Format: 16 digits is standard for Visa.
• Expiry date: Set a future date, or let Namso Gen randomize it.
• CVV: Generate random 3-digit CVVs (Visa uses 3-digit CVV2, never 4).

Step 3: Generate and Copy

Click Generate. You'll get a batch of Luhn-valid Visa numbers ready to paste into your test environment.

Example output:

4111 1149 7834 2256  |  08/28  |  419
4111 1182 5501 6043  |  03/27  |  753
4111 1127 3998 5110  |  11/29  |  208
4111 1193 0447 8892  |  06/28  |  641
4111 1158 6212 3374  |  01/30  |  527

These numbers pass Luhn validation and look like real Visa cards to any form validator — but they're not connected to any real account.

Visa Card Validation Rules

If you're building or testing payment form validation, here are the rules your code should enforce for Visa:

Quick JavaScript Validation

function isValidVisa(number) {
  const cleaned = number.replace(/\s|-/g, '');

  // Must start with 4 and be 16 digits
  if (!/^4\d{15}$/.test(cleaned)) return false;

  // Luhn check
  let sum = 0;
  for (let i = cleaned.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
    let digit = parseInt(cleaned[i]);
    if ((cleaned.length - i) % 2 === 0) {
      digit *= 2;
      if (digit > 9) digit -= 9;
    }
    sum += digit;
  }

  return sum % 10 === 0;
}

// Test it
console.log(isValidVisa('4242 4242 4242 4242')); // true
console.log(isValidVisa('4111 1111 1111 1111')); // true
console.log(isValidVisa('5111 1111 1111 1111')); // false (not Visa)
console.log(isValidVisa('4111 1111 1111 1112')); // false (bad Luhn)

Quick Python Validation

import re

def is_valid_visa(number: str) -> bool:
    cleaned = re.sub(r'[\s-]', '', number)

    # Must start with 4 and be 16 digits
    if not re.match(r'^4\d{15}$', cleaned):
        return False

    # Luhn check
    digits = [int(d) for d in cleaned]
    for i in range(len(digits) - 2, -1, -2):
        digits[i] *= 2
        if digits[i] > 9:
            digits[i] -= 9

    return sum(digits) % 10 == 0

# Test it
print(is_valid_visa('4242 4242 4242 4242'))  # True
print(is_valid_visa('4111 1111 1111 1111'))  # True
print(is_valid_visa('5111 1111 1111 1111'))  # False

Common Visa BINs by Issuer and Country

For testing region-specific or issuer-specific scenarios, here are widely known Visa BIN ranges:

United States

United Kingdom

Europe

Latin America

Asia-Pacific

Remember: These BIN ranges are for testing and educational purposes. Use the BIN Checker to verify any BIN's issuer, country, and card type.

Visa Subtypes: Classic, Gold, Platinum, Infinite, Electron

Not all Visa cards are the same. Different subtypes have different BIN ranges, acceptance rules, and interchange fees. When testing, it can matter.

Testing tip: If your checkout handles Visa Electron differently (some merchants don't accept it), generate test cards with Electron BINs (4026, 4508, etc.) using Namso Gen to verify your logic handles the rejection or acceptance correctly.

Gateway Test Cards vs Generated Cards: When to Use Each

The sweet spot: use gateway test cards for end-to-end payment flow testing, and use Namso Gen for everything else — form validation, bulk generation, BIN-specific scenarios, and any test that doesn't need a live gateway connection.

For a deeper comparison, see our Credit Card Generator for Testing guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Visa test card numbers real credit card numbers?

No. Test card numbers — whether from gateways or generators like Namso Gen — are not linked to any real bank account. They follow the correct format and pass Luhn validation, but they cannot be used for actual purchases.

Why do all Visa cards start with 4?

The first digit is the Major Industry Identifier (MII). The digit 4 is assigned to banking and financial institutions, specifically Visa. Mastercard uses 5 (and some 2-series), Amex uses 3 (34 and 37). This is defined by the ISO/IEC 7812 standard.

Can I use Stripe test cards in PayPal's sandbox?

No. Each gateway has its own test card numbers that only work in that gateway's sandbox environment. Stripe's 4242 4242 4242 4242 won't work in PayPal's sandbox. Use the gateway-specific cards listed above, or generate your own with Namso Gen for non-gateway testing.

How many digits does a Visa card number have?

Modern Visa cards are 16 digits. Historically, some Visa cards had 13 digits, but those are no longer issued and are rarely encountered in the wild. Your validation code should check for 16 digits.

What's the difference between Visa and Visa Electron for testing?

Visa Electron cards always require online authorization — they can't be processed offline. Some merchants don't accept Visa Electron. If your checkout has specific logic for card subtypes, you should test with Electron BINs (4026, 4175, 4508, 4844, 4913, 4917) to verify correct handling.

Is it legal to use generated Visa test numbers?

Yes. Generating Luhn-valid test numbers for development and testing is completely legal. These numbers don't correspond to real accounts and can't be used for transactions. Payment testing with synthetic data is standard practice across the industry. For more on this, read our safety guide.

How do I test Visa 3D Secure (Verified by Visa)?

Use your gateway's specific 3D Secure test cards. For Stripe, use 4000 0025 0000 3155 (3DS1) or 4000 0000 0000 3220 (3DS2). Other gateways have their own 3DS test numbers — check the gateway tables above.

Can I generate Visa Electron test cards with Namso Gen?

Yes. Enter a Visa Electron BIN (like 402600, 450800, or 491700) in Namso Gen to generate test cards specifically for Visa Electron scenarios.