A special data set printed on the magnetic stripe of a card, containing the card information required for authorization when the card is used physically.
It consists of 40 numeric characters.
Track2 Field Structure
| Field Description | Length | Length Description |
| Start Sentinel (SS) | 1 character | The delimiter indicating that Track2 begins. It starts with “;”. |
| Card Number | up to 19 digits | The card number information. It is usually 16 digits, but can be up to 19 digits. |
| Delimiter | 1 character | Used to separate Track2 information. “=” is used. |
| Expiration Date | 4 digits | Stored in YYMM format. |
| Service Code | 3 digits | Contains information such as the card type, PIN usage status, domestic/international usage status, etc. |
| Optional Data | Variable | Its content is determined by the issuer. It contains the following information: PVKI: Pin Verification Key Indicator PVV or Offset: Pin Verification Value CVV or CVC: Card Validation Code/Value |
| End Sentinel (ES) | 1 character | Indicates that Track2 has ended; it is set as “?”. |
| Longitude Redundancy Check (LRC) | 1 character | Used to confirm that Track2 was read without errors. |
Examining Track2 Data Through an Example
What information does Track2 data consist of? Let's now examine Track2 data through an example:
;1234567890123445=23071260XXXX000?*
- ; = Start of Track2
- 1234567890123445 = Card Number
- = = Delimiter
- 2307 = Expiration Date
- 126 = Service Code
- 0 = PVKI (Pin Verification Key Indicator)
- XXXX = PVV (Pin Verification Value)
- 000 = CVV (Card Verification Code)
- ? = End of Track2
- * = LRC