- How do I install inacho/php-credit-card-validator in a Laravel project?
- Install it with Composer by running composer require inacho/php-credit-card-validator and pinning the version you have reviewed, such as 1.0.2. The package is framework-agnostic, so there is no documented Laravel service provider or auto-discovery step to configure. In a Laravel app the usual pattern is to call it from a custom validation rule or a small card validation service instead of directly from controllers.
- Does it support Laravel 10, 11, and 12 with PHP 8.x?
- The package originates from an older PHP era, and the 1.0.2 release does not publish clearly confirmed PHP 8.x or Laravel 10 to 12 constraints you can rely on. Run a Composer dry run against your target runtime and check the resolved PHP and PHPUnit requirements before adopting it. If a conflict appears, wrapping or vendoring the small validation logic is a realistic fallback rather than a blocker.
- How do I validate a card number, expiration date, and CVV with this package?
- Call CreditCard::validCreditCard($number) to run the Luhn checksum, which also returns the detected card brand. Expiration dates are checked with the package's date validation method, and CVV shape with validCvc, which in 1.0.2 accepts numeric content only. Treat all three results as pre-submission format checks rather than proof that the card is live or authorized.
- Is a Luhn check enough to prove a credit card number is valid?
- No. The Luhn algorithm only confirms the digits are internally consistent, and plenty of invented, expired, or cancelled numbers will pass it. Real verification requires an authorization or zero-amount verification through your payment processor. Use this library to catch typos and improve form UX, not as a fraud signal or a validity guarantee.
- Does using this package reduce PCI DSS compliance scope?
- No. Any flow that accepts, transmits, or stores a card number remains in PCI DSS scope no matter which validator runs on the server or in the browser. The safest design is provider-hosted fields or tokenization so raw card data never reaches your infrastructure. The library can still validate format before tokenization, but it is format and UX validation, not a compliance control.
- Which card brands does it detect, and are the BIN ranges up to date?
- It recognizes common brands such as Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover through pattern matching combined with the Luhn check. Version 1.0.2 refreshed MasterCard BIN ranges, but there is no confirmed refresh for other networks, co-badged or debit products, or 8-digit BINs. If brand detection affects routing or fees, cross-check results against your processor's BIN data.
- What changed in version 1.0.2, and are there breaking behavior changes?
- Release 1.0.2 added unit tests, updated MasterCard BIN patterns, restricted CVC input to numeric characters, and allowed integer expiration values. The stricter CVC rule can reject values that previously passed, such as strings carrying spaces from a client-side input mask. Integer expiry also cannot express a leading-zero month like 05/25 unambiguously, so pass month and year separately and cover both cases in your own tests.
- Is this package actively maintained and safe to use in production?
- Maintenance signals are mixed: 1.0.2 adds tests and a BIN refresh, but one patch release does not establish a release cadence, and there is no published security policy or static-analysis configuration. The underlying logic is small, essentially regex patterns, a Luhn check, and simple field validation, so forking or reimplementing it internally is inexpensive if the project stalls. Alternatives include your payment provider's client-side validation or a homegrown Laravel rule.
- Does the library log, store, or expose card numbers and CVV codes?
- The package is a pure validator and is not designed to persist or transmit card data, and there is no documented logging of PAN or CVC values. Even so, you should never pass raw card numbers or CVV codes into application logs, exception messages, or test fixtures. Redact inputs inside your wrapper before any logging or error reporting to keep that guarantee.
- Should I call it directly in my Laravel controllers, or wrap it in a custom validation rule?
- Wrap it. Put Inacho\CreditCard behind a custom validation rule or a CardValidationService that depends on your own interface, so form requests and controllers never reference the vendor class directly. That keeps replacement, forking, or switching to an internal implementation low-cost. Keep the package out of the authorization, tokenization, storage, and fraud-decision paths entirely.