# PIN Management
source: https://developer.mastercard.com/mastercard-processing-core/documentation/guides/pin-management/index.md

PIN management operations do not transfer PIN data in human-readable text. Instead, the data is encrypted as PIN blocks. PIN block formats must follow [ISO-9564](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_9564) standards.

You can choose the type of communication with Mastercard Processing: with full PAN or without full PAN (PAN-less). For more information, refer to [PAN-related decisions](https://developer.mastercard.com/mastercard-processing-core/documentation/guides/pan-related-decisions/index.md).

PAN users exchange PIN blocks encrypted in ISO format 0. For more information, refer to the [Set a PIN for a Full PAN Issuer](https://developer.mastercard.com/mastercard-processing-core/documentation/use-cases/pin-management/set-pin-full-pan-issuer/index.md) use case. The PIN blocks must be secured with additional symmetric encryption using Zone PIN Key (ZPK) which must be exchanged with a Mastercard Processing representative during the onboarding process.

PAN-less issuers exchange PIN blocks encrypted in ISO format 1. The PIN blocks must be secured with additional asymmetric encryption using an RSA key received through the `GET` request sent to the `/public-keys`. The API decrypts the PIN block, finds the full PAN in our Card Management System (CMS), and converts the PIN block from ISO format 1 to ISO format 0. For more information, refer to the [Set a PIN for a PAN-less Issuer](https://developer.mastercard.com/mastercard-processing-core/documentation/use-cases/pin-management/set-pin-pan-less-issuer/index.md) use case.

The API must be configured during onboarding if you want to use PIN block in ISO format 1 for `setPin` and `verifyPin` operations.
Tip: To learn how to build and encrypt the PIN block, refer to the [PIN block formation and encryption process](https://developer.mastercard.com/mastercard-processing-core/tutorial/pin-encryption-process/index.md) tutorial.