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Bank Account with Maestro ?

quackers82
quackers82 Posts: 70 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker PPI Party Pooper
in Budgeting & bank accounts
Does anybody know a bank that still issues Maestro cards? They are not my prefered choice, but when i go to Holland to visit my friend (which is a few times a year), i find that when i am buying train tickets with the automatic machines, i have issues.

Lloyds TSB Visa debit - declines
Lloyds TSB Mastercard - declines
Capital One Visa Credit Card - declines

My friends Natwest Maestro debit card works. Apparently they do not really do "credit" in Holland like they do in the UK, and everyone has Maestro debit cards, or these "chip n Pin" cards (not like UK chip and pin).

So i thought to my self i could get a basic UK bank account and pop £50 in and use when i go over there to make life easier. Can i find a UK bank issuing Maestro cards? Nope. Natwest are changing to Visa Debit.....

Any ideas?

Comments

  • savagej
    savagej Posts: 1,158 Forumite
    Only one left if Clydesdale / Yorkshire and that would have to be on their basic account as those on the full account are being replaced with Mastercard debit.

    Oh, and Northern Bank and Bank of Ireland if you live in NI.
  • Toe-Jam
    Toe-Jam Posts: 1,554 Forumite
    edited 1 April 2010 at 11:57AM
    Visa Debit/Credit is accepted everywhere maestro is accepted in Holland, so why go to the bother I used mine no problem, Did you tell your bank you were travelling ?
  • quackers82
    quackers82 Posts: 70 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker PPI Party Pooper
    Toe-Jam wrote: »
    Visa Debit/Credit is accepted everywhere maestro is accepted in Holland, so why go to the bother I used mine no problem, Did you tell your bank you were travelling ?


    Yes told Lloyds and Capital one i was travelling, but they just will not work with the train ticket machines :mad: The machine just spits the card back at me after a few seconds :(
  • Toe-Jam
    Toe-Jam Posts: 1,554 Forumite
    quackers82 wrote: »
    Yes told Lloyds and Capital one i was travelling, but they just will not work with the train ticket machines :mad: The machine just spits the card back at me after a few seconds :(

    There are at least 10 threads on cards and ticket machines, depending on your card, some don't work at petrol pumps and trains, they are full authorisation cards, and these facilities don't always authorise transactions so your card declines.
  • paulmcerlean
    paulmcerlean Posts: 831 Forumite
    My Lloyd's Visa debit works fine at train stations in Holland. Have you asked the bank why?
  • simongregson
    simongregson Posts: 900 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper
    I have to agree with the OP, many years ago when I went to holland the only cards accepted at the train station ticket machines was maestro, and IIRC you had to type in your pin even though it was before chip and pin cards arrived. I think at the time foreign maestro transactions could use a pin and magnetic stripe (like they use for domestic debit cards in the USA)

    of course, i expect the machines have been updated since!
  • Toe-Jam
    Toe-Jam Posts: 1,554 Forumite
    savagej wrote: »
    Only one left if Clydesdale / Yorkshire and that would have to be on their basic account as those on the full account are being replaced with Mastercard debit.

    Oh, and Northern Bank and Bank of Ireland if you live in NI.

    My understanding of Maestro debit UK is that it is Switch UK rebranded Maestro Int. The Switch gateway is winding down, due to close in 2012, Solo has already gone.

    Northern Bank are also preparing for a change to something else, I would speculate that it will be Visa, as they are owned by Danske Bank who use Visa on their debit facilities although this is not confirmed.

    Prepaid Maestro cards are unaffected, as they are not processed via Switch and instead are routed through Mastercard.
  • paulmcerlean
    paulmcerlean Posts: 831 Forumite
    Northern Bank are changing to Mastercard Debit as per Danske Europe.
  • Toe-Jam
    Toe-Jam Posts: 1,554 Forumite
    edited 6 April 2010 at 5:51PM
    paulmcerlean wrote: »
    Northern Bank are changing to Mastercard Debit as per Danske Europe.

    Danske Bank issue visa on the current accounts.
This discussion has been closed.
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