diff --git a/src/main/java/com/solab/iso8583/IsoValue.java b/src/main/java/com/solab/iso8583/IsoValue.java
index 7ea05e7..8ebc77c 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/solab/iso8583/IsoValue.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/solab/iso8583/IsoValue.java
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import java.io.OutputStream;
 import java.math.BigDecimal;
 import java.util.Date;
 
+import com.solab.iso8583.util.Bcd;
 import com.solab.iso8583.util.HexCodec;
 
 /** Represents a value that is stored in a field inside an ISO8583 message.
@@ -291,7 +292,7 @@ public class IsoValue<T> implements Cloneable {
 			}
 			//Encode in BCD if it's one of these types
 			if (buf != null) {
-				toBcd(toString(), buf);
+				Bcd.encode(toString(), buf);
 				outs.write(buf);
 				return;
 			}
@@ -316,24 +317,4 @@ public class IsoValue<T> implements Cloneable {
 		}
 	}
 
-	/** Encode the value as BCD and put it in the buffer. The buffer must be big enough
-	 * to store the digits in the original value (half the length of the string). */
-	private void toBcd(String value, byte[] buf) {
-		int charpos = 0; //char where we start
-		int bufpos = 0;
-		if (value.length() % 2 == 1) {
-			//for odd lengths we encode just the first digit in the first byte
-			buf[0] = (byte)(value.charAt(0) - 48);
-			charpos = 1;
-			bufpos = 1;
-		}
-		//encode the rest of the string
-		while (charpos < value.length()) {
-			buf[bufpos] = (byte)(((value.charAt(charpos) - 48) << 4)
-					| (value.charAt(charpos + 1) - 48));
-			charpos += 2;
-			bufpos++;
-		}
-	}
-
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/solab/iso8583/parse/NumericParseInfo.java b/src/main/java/com/solab/iso8583/parse/NumericParseInfo.java
index d0f8904..c33ef53 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/solab/iso8583/parse/NumericParseInfo.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/solab/iso8583/parse/NumericParseInfo.java
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import java.text.ParseException;
 import com.solab.iso8583.CustomField;
 import com.solab.iso8583.IsoType;
 import com.solab.iso8583.IsoValue;
+import com.solab.iso8583.util.Bcd;
 
 /** This class is used to parse NUMERIC fields.
  * 
@@ -49,30 +50,18 @@ public class NumericParseInfo extends AlphaNumericFieldParseInfo {
 		}
 		//A long covers up to 18 digits
 		if (length < 19) {
-			long l = 0;
-			long power = 1L;
-			for (int i = pos + (length / 2) + (length % 2) - 1; i >= pos; i--) {
-				l += (buf[i] & 0x0f) * power;
-				power *= 10L;
-				l += ((buf[i] & 0xf0) >> 4) * power;
-				power *= 10L;
-			}
-			return new IsoValue<Number>(IsoType.NUMERIC, l, length, null);
+			return new IsoValue<Number>(IsoType.NUMERIC, Bcd.decodeToLong(buf, pos, length),
+                length, null);
 		} else {
 			//Use a BigInteger
-			char[] digits = new char[length];
-			int start = 0;
             try {
-                for (int i = pos; i < pos + (length / 2) + (length % 2); i++) {
-                    digits[start++] = (char)(((buf[i] & 0xf0) >> 4) + 48);
-                    digits[start++] = (char)((buf[i] & 0x0f) + 48);
-                }
+                return new IsoValue<Number>(IsoType.NUMERIC,
+                    Bcd.decodeToBigInteger(buf, pos, length), length, null);
             } catch (IndexOutOfBoundsException ex) {
                 throw new ParseException(String.format(
-                        "Insufficient data for bin %s field %d of length %d, pos %d",
-             				type, field, length, pos), pos);
+                    "Insufficient data for bin %s field %d of length %d, pos %d",
+                    type, field, length, pos), pos);
             }
-			return new IsoValue<Number>(IsoType.NUMERIC, new BigInteger(new String(digits)), length, null);
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/solab/iso8583/util/Bcd.java b/src/main/java/com/solab/iso8583/util/Bcd.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..39957d0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/com/solab/iso8583/util/Bcd.java
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+package com.solab.iso8583.util;
+
+import java.math.BigInteger;
+import java.text.ParseException;
+
+/**
+ * Routines for Binary Coded Digits.
+ *
+ * @author Enrique Zamudio
+ *         Date: 23/04/13 11:24
+ */
+public final class Bcd {
+
+    private Bcd(){}
+
+    public static long decodeToLong(byte[] buf, int pos, int length)
+            throws IndexOutOfBoundsException {
+        if (length > 18) {
+            throw new IndexOutOfBoundsException("Buffer too big to decode as long");
+        }
+        long l = 0;
+        long power = 1L;
+        for (int i = pos + (length / 2) + (length % 2) - 1; i >= pos; i--) {
+            l += (buf[i] & 0x0f) * power;
+            power *= 10L;
+            l += ((buf[i] & 0xf0) >> 4) * power;
+            power *= 10L;
+        }
+        return l;
+    }
+
+    /** Encode the value as BCD and put it in the buffer. The buffer must be big enough
+   	 * to store the digits in the original value (half the length of the string). */
+    public static void encode(String value, byte[] buf) {
+        int charpos = 0; //char where we start
+        int bufpos = 0;
+        if (value.length() % 2 == 1) {
+            //for odd lengths we encode just the first digit in the first byte
+            buf[0] = (byte)(value.charAt(0) - 48);
+            charpos = 1;
+            bufpos = 1;
+        }
+        //encode the rest of the string
+        while (charpos < value.length()) {
+            buf[bufpos] = (byte)(((value.charAt(charpos) - 48) << 4)
+                | (value.charAt(charpos + 1) - 48));
+            charpos += 2;
+            bufpos++;
+        }
+    }
+
+    public static BigInteger decodeToBigInteger(byte[] buf, int pos, int length)
+            throws IndexOutOfBoundsException {
+        char[] digits = new char[length];
+        int start = 0;
+        for (int i = pos; i < pos + (length / 2) + (length % 2); i++) {
+            digits[start++] = (char)(((buf[i] & 0xf0) >> 4) + 48);
+            digits[start++] = (char)((buf[i] & 0x0f) + 48);
+        }
+        return new BigInteger(new String(digits));
+    }
+
+}