Mastercard Debit and Maestro.

binaryuniverse

I was reading up trying to work out why banks are shifting away from Maestro to Visa Debit (haven't got my answer to that btw - and yes, I'm sad, I know) and I noticed some banks (Clydesdale and Yorkshire bank) have started issuing Mastercard Debit cards. Now thats got me confused. Whats the difference between Maestro and Mastercard Debit? Seems a bit strange as they are from the same company.

stclair

You receive a higher level of purchase protection with Visa Debit and its more globally accepted then maestro and solo etc.

As for Debit Mastercard and maestro. I would say a debit mastercard is more globally accepted then a maestro card.

Im sure the banks see it as an improved service to it customers.

exel1966

binaryuniverse wrote: »

Whats the difference between Maestro and Mastercard Debit? Seems a bit strange as they are from the same company.

Maestro is a brand name for Mastercard debit cards, however the name Maestro is being phased out so in a few years time all will be known as Mastercard debit cards.

savagej

Maestro is not being phased out, along with V-Pay it is one of the few payment systems that currently comply with SEPA rules.

Toe-Jam

binaryuniverse wrote: »

I was reading up trying to work out why banks are shifting away from Maestro to Visa Debit (haven't got my answer to that btw - and yes, I'm sad, I know) and I noticed some banks (Clydesdale and Yorkshire bank) have started issuing Mastercard Debit cards. Now thats got me confused. Whats the difference between Maestro and Mastercard Debit? Seems a bit strange as they are from the same company.

NATWEST and HSBC were 2 of the founder banks of Switch back in the day, RBS aquired NATWEST therefore its share in the switch system.

The switch system was then bought by Mastercard and rebranded Maestro, but still run by this "switch" group.

The switch gateway is being closed in 2011 (this does not mean maesto will not work, just that it won't be run by the old switch system) and RBS and HSBC have since sold their share in the group, so they don't get a cheap deal with mastercard like they used to, and got better rates from Visa, thus the switchover to Visa Debit
.

zephyr_uk

binaryuniverse wrote: »

I was reading up trying to work out why banks are shifting away from Maestro to Visa Debit (haven't got my answer to that btw - and yes, I'm sad, I know) and I noticed some banks (Clydesdale and Yorkshire bank) have started issuing Mastercard Debit cards. Now thats got me confused. Whats the difference between Maestro and Mastercard Debit? Seems a bit strange as they are from the same company.

One of the main reasons why the banks are changing to Visa Debit, apart from those cited above, is because they get a higher % from Visa. Interchange fees are higher for Visa Debit transactions than Maestro (charging retailers higher fees for each Visa Debit transaction) and the banks get a bigger slice of this.

Naturally, retailers weren't thrilled by this. A page on theBritish Retail Consortium web site (it wont let me post the link) says:


Wednesday, 09 April 2008 The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has hit out at plans by the UK’s largest bank, HSBC, to issue 10 million consumers with Visa debit cards, replacing the current Maestro.



It claims that retailers will have to pay 34% more for a Visa transaction than they do at present with Maestro.

The bank says it will help its customers with international transactions while BRC argues that the bank is “piling extra costs onto businesses” in tough economic times.

BRC Director General Stephen Robertson said: "With HSBC accounting for 40 per cent of the market in personal debit card transactions, retailers will be paying out millions more while getting precisely no extra service in return.

"With rulings and enquiries turning the tide against some of the card companies' unjustifiable fees it's clear they are exploiting other ways of recouping lost revenues."

The BRC argues that charges levied by card companies on retailers for processing transactions are much higher than the actual costs they incur and describes them as “an unjustifiable tax on retailers and customers”.

The European Commission ruled in December that the charges levied by MasterCard on retailers for cross-border credit and debit card transactions are unlawful.

It has announced another probe into Visa's cross-border charges.

Since 2000 the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has been investigating the so called interchange fees imposed by MasterCard and Visa on transactions within the UK.

It is expected to rule this summer.

Olipro

Whilst yes, they are a blow for retailers, if you're a consumer you are a winner from this, just don't use the card for any cash-like transactions or you will likely be levied a cash advance fee... so in other words, if you want to buy foreign currency or have a flutter at the casino, take cash out from an ATM or similar.