Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code (EBCDIC) is an 8-bit character encoding used mainly on IBM mainframe and IBM midrange computer operating systems.

EBCDIC descended from the code used with punched cards and the corresponding six bit binary-coded decimal code used with most of IBM's computer peripherals of the late 1950s and early 1960s.

It is also employed on various non-IBM platforms such as Fujitsu-Siemens' BS2000/OSD, HP MPE/iX, and Unisys MCP.

EBCDIC ( /ˈɛbsɨdɪk/) was devised in 1963 and 1964 by IBM and was announced with the release of the IBM System/360 line of mainframe computers. It is an 8-bit character encoding, in contrast to, and developed separately from, the 7-bit ASCII encoding scheme. It was created to extend the existing binary-coded decimal (BCD) interchange code, or BCDIC, which itself was devised as an efficient means of encoding the two zone and number punches on punched cards into 6 bits.

While IBM was a chief proponent of the ASCII standardization committee, they did not have time to prepare ASCII peripherals (such as card punch machines) to ship with its System/360 computers, so the company settled on EBCDIC. The System/360 became wildly successful, and thus so did EBCDIC.