Maestro Cards

balmesh

I have read the threads on the change from Maestro to Visa and suffered from it myself. It's worse, however, when going abroad. We often have to visit Holland and there the retailers in the "sticks" decline my Visa card, and most decline Mastercard as well. Petrol stations are better but we have to be careful. They ALL take "Chip and Pin" cards and Maestro. Does anyone know where i can get a Maestro card? I have tried the official website but it's out of date by years and I got nowhere.:(

scott_lithgows

Clydesdale/Yorkshire bank readycash account?

balmesh

Tried both - now one! The fees were enormous, like £5 to set it up and same every year for being allowed to use my own money.

InsideInsurance

Maestro is owned and operated by Mastercard.

Until 2011 Maestro in the UK was different to Maestro in the rest of Europe (it was just the Switch protocol rebadged)

Whilst I dont go into the sticks of Holland I am surprised that you say they used to accept Mastercard Switch and Mastercard Maestro but don't accept Mastercard Debit

Is it their machines declining it or the merchants themselves saying they don't accept it?

If it is the later it is probably a debit -v- credit issue and they fear the higher charges of credit cards.

System

Did you select the prepaid Maestro option by any chance?

Their current and even some of their savings accounts come with a Maestro card e.g Clydesdale Instant Savings. Non-UK transactions seem to have a minimum fee of £1.50 so not so cheap.

balmesh wrote: »

Tried both - now one! The fees were enormous, like £5 to set it up and same every year for being allowed to use my own money.

System

It's mostly an historic issue. Although MasterCard now runs Maestro, it was formally run by Europay who later merged with MasterCard.

Eurocheques were replaced by EC debit card which was replaced by Maestro. Eurocheques / EC were big in the Benelux and Germany.

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Maestro is owned and operated by Mastercard.

Until 2011 Maestro in the UK was different to Maestro in the rest of Europe (it was just the Switch protocol rebadged)

Whilst I dont go into the sticks of Holland I am surprised that you say they used to accept Mastercard Switch and Mastercard Maestro but don't accept Mastercard Debit

Is it their machines declining it or the merchants themselves saying they don't accept it?

If it is the later it is probably a debit -v- credit issue and they fear the higher charges of credit cards.

dalesrider

I used to love Maestro cards....

Sorry can't help you.... Now with visa its far more work.....

No wonder Maestro died a death.

reclusive46

I hate how Visa has such a debit card monopoly in the UK and the fact that on the credit side of things a lot more credit cards are Visa now (Not many years back and pretty much all excluding barclaycard were MC).

I wish we would see some more debit mastercard issuers in the UK.

balmesh

Thanks for the replies. To confirm - it was the machines that will not accept Visa and many will not accept any credit card, only debit - Maestro and "Chip and Pin" whatever they are.

Maestro.

reclusive46 wrote: »

I hate how Visa has such a debit card monopoly in the UK and the fact that on the credit side of things a lot more credit cards are Visa now (Not many years back and pretty much all excluding barclaycard were MC).

I could've sworn it was the opposite for credit cards. Off the top of my head I can think of quite a few banks which were Visa but now issue MasterCard instead. The Amazon card was a Visa too, now MC. Come to think of it, only Nationwide and Barclays are really the two main Visa credit card issuers, the rest are all subprime.

All of the "really good" cards are MasterCard, though. Think World MasterCard etc.

I hate Visa after the monopoly they tried to create during the Olympics...

dalesrider

Halifax cc is mastercard.
HSBC also did mastercard CC.

I think in terms of Credit cards mastercard is still Ok. But has lost its hold in Debit cards due to their lack of consumer protection.

Is the OP, sure that just because the card reader says mastercard. That they don't take visa?
Given where you say they are. Can't see the retailers shelling out for new kit just for the hell of it.