PAN
Abbreviation with 4 meanings
| Stands for | National Action Party |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 4 |
| Categories | Government & Politics, Business & Finance, Technology & Computing |
PAN has four meanings. The most common are National Action Party (world government) and Permanent Account Number (tax); it can also stand for Personal area network and Primary account number.
Meanings of PAN at a glance
| # | PAN stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Action Party | Government & Politics › World Government |
| 2 | Permanent Account Number | Business & Finance › Tax |
| 3 | Personal area network | Technology & Computing › Networking |
| 4 | Primary account number | Business & Finance › Banking |
1. National Action Party
Government & Politics · World Government Abbreviations
Mexican centre-right party, Partido Acción Nacional, founded in 1939, which ended the PRI's long hold on the presidency when Vicente Fox won in 2000.
Example: The PAN formed an electoral alliance with the PRI to oppose the governing party.
Felipe Calderón of the PAN followed Fox as president from 2006 to 2012. The party is rooted in Catholic social thought and business circles. In India, PAN means permanent account number, the taxpayer identifier on a PAN card.
2. Permanent Account Number
Business & Finance · Tax Abbreviations
Ten-character alphanumeric identifier issued by India's Income Tax Department, required for filing returns, opening bank and investment accounts, and large financial transactions. The fourth character shows the holder type, such as P for an individual or C for a company.
Example: Please share a copy of your PAN card for the KYC process.
PANs follow the pattern of five letters, four digits and one letter. Individuals must link their PAN with their Aadhaar number, and unlinked PANs can become inoperative. In technology, PAN also means personal area network and, on payment cards, primary account number.
3. Personal area network
Technology & Computing · Networking Abbreviations
A very short-range network linking the devices around one person, such as a phone, smartwatch, wireless earbuds and laptop, typically within about 10 meters. Bluetooth is the classic PAN technology, and a USB tether between a phone and a computer also counts.
Example: Windows lists the phone as a Bluetooth PAN device whenever tethering is turned on.
The IEEE 802.15 working group covers wireless personal area networks, giving rise to the variant WPAN. PAN is the smallest category in the textbook sequence PAN, LAN, MAN, WAN. Outside networking, PAN can mean India's Permanent Account Number or the primary account number printed on a payment card.
4. Primary account number
Business & Finance · Banking Abbreviations
Card number printed or embossed on a payment card, typically 16 digits, that identifies the card account. It begins with the bank identification number and ends with a check digit calculated using the Luhn algorithm.
Example: Never email a customer's full PAN; mask it to show only the last four digits.
PCI DSS requires merchants to protect stored PANs, and receipts usually show only the last four digits. Tokenization replaces the PAN with a substitute number in mobile wallets such as Apple Pay. In India, PAN more commonly refers to the Permanent Account Number tax ID.
Related abbreviations
More world government abbreviations
- NKVD – People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs
- NPC – National People's Congress
- OAS – Old Age Security
- PA – Palestinian Authority
- PBS – Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
- PLO – Palestine Liberation Organization
- PRI – Institutional Revolutionary Party
- QMV – Qualified majority voting
See all 103 world government abbreviations →