• Debit/Credit MasterCard acceptance 2023 Netherlands

@sthtorun#273731 This goes into effect later this year, not starting January 1. Maestro will still be supported until 2027. Starting latet this year, no new Maestro cards will be handed out. I hope stores, restaurants, etc. will start supporting Mastercard soon!

    I received the email that bunq’s stopping issuing Maestro from Jan 16. Finally🎉🎉!!! Just wonder do all those shops in the Netherlands that only accepted Maestro/VPay before already accept MasterCard Debit? Or even better MasterCard Credit?

      @sthtorun#273731 I read from ING’s business page that from the end of 2024 it would be compulsory to accept credit cards. Wishing it to happen sooner

        Albert Heijn does NOT accept Mastercard Debit cards.. And given Mastercard has something like 10x the fees of Maestro, I can understand why. This feels like a money grab from Mastercard/bunq.

          @Peter-Golden-Lion#273789 I checked ING and ABN AMRO’s business website. Accepting MC Debit now costs exactly the same as Maestro before. Come on all the world is using debit and credit cards there’s no point holding on to Maestro. It’s cheap because it’s outdated and losing many functions that modern day people need.

            @Peter-Golden-Lion#273789 Mastercard Debit acceptance will be the same (or better) as Maestro acceptance in The Netherlands and Belgium as soon as the switch-over happens.

            You can also find important information for bunq users in the official topic:

            🔗 Maestro cards will be replaced with Debit Mastercards from 2023

            Especially this part:

            Your card will still work the same in every store until it expires - you can see the expiry date of your Maestro Debit card by going to the card details. Once expired, you will be able to replace it with a Mastercard Debit card.

            And:

            Mastercard Debit cards will work as a regular Debit card - you’ll be able to pay with Mastercard Debit everywhere you go, the same way you were with Maestro.

            As this is a general change from Mastercard, all banks in Europe will stop giving out Maestro cards soon. This was announced by Mastercard already in the year 2021, so the industry and merchants had a lot of time to prepare and make the transition smooth: https://www.mastercard.com/news/europe/en/perspectives/en/2021/blog-from-valerie-nowak-why-this-maestro-is-retiring-after-30-years/

              @Peter-Golden-Lion#273789 In the last few weeks my Mastercard (debit) was accepted at several AH's in Twente, where they were not accepted before.

                I also just tried and my debit MasterCard from bunq worked in Spar where they used to only accept Maestro. Great move! Now I hope credit card gets normalised soon.

                  With my current (legacy but still working) Debit MasterCard I can pay now at my local Jumbo where that wasn't the case a few months before.

                    10 days later

                    Although the acceptance of Mastercard Debit is evidently increasing, I did come into 3 occasions this week where my bunq MasterCard Debit was not accepted. So I had to use my old Maestro. These include:
                    Primera Rotterdam Zuidplein
                    Amazing Oriental Rotterdam Zuidplein

                    Now that bunq stopped issuing Maestro I can see new customers running into problems when paying in the Netherlands. I do hope merchants upgrade their pos machines quicker to accept better cards.

                      @xiaoming#274305 It's a good idea to give a heads-up to the personnel of shops where your Mastercard debit doesn't work! Hopefully it'll motivate them to speed up the acceptance process.

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