| Country/Region
|
Available
|
Replaced
|
Replaced by
|
Notes
|
 Austria
|
No
|
Eurocheque
|
Debit Mastercard
|
Beginning with 2019, Austria's largest bank by assets Erste Group[11] began replacing Austrian Maestro cards with Debit Mastercard.[12] Other banks followed in 2020 and 2021.
|
 Belgium
|
Yes*
|
|
Visa Debit or Debit Mastercard
|
Co-branded with Bancontact. BNP Paribas Fortis group started issuing co-branded Bancontact and Visa Debit cards in 2021. Keytrade Bank also started issuing co-branded Bancontact/Visa Debit cards in 2023. Belfius, KBC Group, Beobank & Argenta (bank) started issuing co-branded Bancontact/Debit Mastercard in 2023.
|
 Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
Yes
|
|
Debit Mastercard
|
UniCredit Bank made the switch from Maestro to Mastercard on June 1, 2016.[13]
|
 Croatia
|
Yes
|
|
Visa Debit or Debit Mastercard
|
Reiffeisenbank Hrvatska replaced Maestro card with Debit Mastercard (with vertical design) in 2019.[14] Erste Bank replaced Maestro with Visa Debit in 2020,[15] and Croatia's largest bank, Zagrebačka banka, did the same in 2021.[16]
|
 Denmark
|
No
|
|
Debit Mastercard
|
Maestro has been replaced by the banks that issued it with Debit Mastercard. Moreover, the largest Danish bank Danske Bank has replaced all of its cash cards with Debit Mastercards.
|
 Germany
|
Yes*
|
Eurocheque
|
In most cases co-branded with the German Girocard logo, but they cannot be used as Maestro over the telephone or on the internet. As of 2020, the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe announced to introduce a new co-branded Girocard using the Debit Mastercard system and effectively replacing the Maestro co-badge slowly.[17]
|
 Greece
|
No
|
|
Maestro debit cards have been issued by several major banks.[18] However, as of March 2015 all four major Greek banks have replaced Maestro cards with contactless Debit Mastercard.
|
 Iceland
|
No
|
|
Debit Mastercard or Visa Debit
|
Maestro debit cards have been issued by several major banks. For example: an old Íslandsbanki request form for banking products includes Maestro and Electron debit card options: However, as of 2015, all banks have replaced them with contactless Debit Mastercard or Visa Debit cards.[19][20]
|
 Ireland
|
No
|
Laser
|
Laser, which was co-branded with Maestro, has been replaced by Visa Debit and Debit Mastercard. The Laser debit card has been phased out by all banks and ceased to operate from March 2014. Irish Laser cards carried Maestro co-branding from 2008 onwards. They were intended to be used with chip and PIN POS systems. The chip on the card was programmed with two applications, one for Laser and one for Maestro. POS transactions were normally processed over the Laser network in Ireland and the Maestro network when the card was used abroad. Some POS terminals prompted users to manually select Laser or Maestro before completing the transaction. Laser cards could be processed as Maestro in most POS terminals worldwide for chip and PIN or swipe and sign transactions (where still accepted). Internet and telephone-based retailers, however, needed to be set up specifically to accept Irish Laser/Maestro cards. Transactions made with these cards were often secured by MasterCard's SecureCode system to verify the cardholder's identity. These cards were usually multi-functional and operated as a debit card as well as an ATM Card which could be used for accessing ATMs. Some banks also allowed customers to use their cards to deposit or withdraw money over the counter or at An Post post offices using their debit card and PIN. Historically the cards often contained a Cheque guarantee card function indicated by a hologram. This scheme was shut down in 2011. Foreign-issued Maestro cards are still accepted in Ireland in ATMs and by many POS machines. However, acceptance of Visa and MasterCard debit/credit cards is more reliably universal at POS terminals.
|
 Italy
|
Yes*
|
|
|
Usually co-branded with the national Bancomat/PagoBancomat and international Cirrus scheme. Most banks issue Mastercard Maestro, while some issue Visa Debit and V Pay cards.
|
 Netherlands
|
Yes
|
PIN
|
Debit Mastercard or Visa Debit
|
Most banks issue Maestro debit cards, with only De Volksbank and ING offering both V Pay and Maestro branded cards.[21][22] Prior to January 1, 2012, Dutch Maestro debit cards were co-branded with the national PIN scheme. This scheme has since been retired and replaced by Maestro and V Pay. And starting in 2022 shop owners will be required to start adding support for Debit Mastercard & Visa Debit to their POS-terminals.[23]
|
 Romania
|
No
|
|
Debit Mastercard
|
Maestro was a popular debit card which was offered by major banks for about 20 years until it was replaced.
|
 Russia
|
No
|
|
Mir
|
Maestro was issued by banks including Sberbank, which issues cards such as Mastercard Maestro Momentum and the Mastercard Maestro Social debit card. After Russian invasion of Ukraine, banks stopped issuing Visa, MasterCard and Maestro cards as they left Russia, and started issuing cards with Mir Payment System. Despite that, old and non-expired Maestro cards still work inside Russia.
|
 Serbia
|
Yes
|
|
Visa Debit
|
Maestro debit cards are issued by several banks in Serbia. The main issuer was Banca Intesa Beograd until, in September 2012, Banca Intesa Beograd began to switch to Visa.[24]
|
 Switzerland
|
Yes
|
|
Debit Mastercard or Visa Debit
|
|
 United Kingdom
|
No
|
Switch
|
The former Switch debit card system was re-branded as Maestro. Underneath the branding, however, the system was still the old Switch one and the cards were still fundamentally Switch. In 2011, MasterCard aligned UK domestic Maestro cards (the former Switch) with the standard international Maestro system, ending its status as a separate card scheme. This change also led to the discontinuation of the Solo debit card.[25] In January 2009 First Direct and HSBC discontinued the use of Maestro cards, issuing Visa Debit cards to new customers and a gradual roll-out throughout 2009 to existing customers. In September of the same year, the British arms of the National Australia Bank, namely Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank, started the process of replacing the Maestro card with a Debit Mastercard for their current accounts, except for the Readycash and Student accounts, for which the Maestro card continued to be issued until 2015. Likewise, in the same month the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (Europe's largest debit card issuer which includes the NatWest, Coutts and Ulster Bank brands) switched from Maestro to Visa Debit, a process that took two years to complete.[26][27][28] This effectively meant that only a few smaller UK banks would be issuing Maestro cards. In 2015, Bank of Ireland UK replaced its Maestro debit cards with Visa Debit cards. Few if any issuers still issue Maestro cards nowadays in the UK, and acceptance of non-UK Maestro cards is patchy.
|
