9F20
Track 2 Discretionary DataTrack 2 Discretionary Data is the track 2 counterpart to Track 1 Discretionary Data (9F1F, referenced alongside it), holding whatever issuer-specific content ISO/IEC 7813 leaves open in track 2's own discretionary portion rather than in the standardised PAN, expiry, and service-code fields the rest of the track defines. In practice, track 2's discretionary data is the more commonly consulted of the two by legacy host systems, since track 2 alone, without track 1, is sufficient for most magnetic-stripe-era processing - a host that only ever reads track 2 will look here, not in 9F1F, for whatever legacy CVV or issuer-specific flag it needs. Because it's compressed-numeric format rather than the alphanumeric-special format of its track 1 sibling, its content is constrained to digits, which narrows but doesn't eliminate the interpretation problem: a terminal still needs issuer- or scheme-specific knowledge to know what those digits actually mean, EMV itself imposing no universal structure on this field. See EMV 4.4 Book 3.
Interactive decoder
Paste a hex value for this tag to decode it in your browser. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Numeric (BCD): 0000000000
This tag is not a bitmap; the decoder shows a format-based interpretation.
Decoded example
Example value: 0000000000
Properties
| Tag | 9F20 |
|---|---|
| Name | Track 2 Discretionary Data |
| Format | Compressed numeric |
| Length | variable |
| Source | Card (ICC) |
| Templates | 70, 77 |
| Books | EMV 4.4 Book 3 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is EMV tag 9F20?
- Track 2 Discretionary Data is the track 2 counterpart to Track 1 Discretionary Data (9F1F, referenced alongside it), holding whatever issuer-specific content ISO/IEC 7813 leaves open in track 2's own discretionary portion rather than in the standardised PAN, expiry, and service-code fields the rest of the track defines. In practice, track 2's discretionary data is the more commonly consulted of the two by legacy host systems, since track 2 alone, without track 1, is sufficient for most magnetic-stripe-era processing - a host that only ever reads track 2 will look here, not in 9F1F, for whatever legacy CVV or issuer-specific flag it needs. Because it's compressed-numeric format rather than the alphanumeric-special format of its track 1 sibling, its content is constrained to digits, which narrows but doesn't eliminate the interpretation problem: a terminal still needs issuer- or scheme-specific knowledge to know what those digits actually mean, EMV itself imposing no universal structure on this field. See EMV 4.4 Book 3.
- What format and length does EMV tag 9F20 use?
- Tag 9F20 uses the Compressed numeric format and is normally variable long.
- Is tag 9F20 provided by the card or the terminal?
- Tag 9F20 (Track 2 Discretionary Data) is provided by the Card (ICC).
Sources
- EMV_v4.4_Book_3_Application_Specification, p. 158
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