EC card: These changes will come in 2023
Created: 04/01/2023 05:05
By: Jan-Frederik Wendt
EC cards that will be issued from July 2023 will have to do without the Maestro function.
When the payment service provider Mastercard announced last autumn that it would discontinue its "Maestro" system in July 2023, some already saw it as the "end for the EC card".
However, the Federal Association of German Banks then said: The EC cards – which have been called giro cards since 2007 – will by no means be abolished.
Instead, there should be new functions that enable payments in online retail, for example.
In addition to the changes in 2023 overall and the changes from January 2023, there will also be some innovations for bank customers over the course of the year with the EC card.
No giro cards with Maestro function from July 2023
However, this requires a change.
And while some banks are already making good progress with this, others are now getting a delay after all.
This is reported by
the online portal
t3n.de.
A salesperson holds out the EC reader for contactless payment to a customer (symbolic photo).
© Georg Wenzel/dpa
The Maestro function had previously ensured that Germans could also pay abroad with their Girocard.
However, because Maestro was not compatible with many online portals, the system operator Mastercard decided to abolish it.
The schedule for this had previously been as follows: From July 2023, no more giro cards with a Maestro function should be issued.
The cards that are then already in circulation – around 100 million in Germany alone – should remain fully functional until the end of their term.
And because the giro cards are usually valid for four years, the cards with a Maestro function would finally have been history in the summer of 2027.
Banks get more time
In fact, it will probably take a little longer before the Maestro function will disappear completely.
Because, as the
Handelsblatt
reports, Mastercard is granting some banks a postponement for the necessary changeover.
The time before the euro: Who still knows these currencies?
View photo gallery
also read
Netflix is serious: Sharing passwords will no longer be allowed from 2023 – consumers need to know that now
READ
What will change for drivers in 2023: The new rules could result in fines and points
READ
Change at McDonald's: Customers have a new option when choosing a drink
READ
"New Year's messed up, danger to life": Net customer scolds with anger and shows photos of evidence with a special device
READ
Saving heating costs and electricity with aluminum foil: home remedies are a real secret trick
READ
Fancy a journey of discovery?
My space
"In the event of technical challenges, we work with our partners to find migration plans that can also include transitional periods," says the financial service provider.
At the Frankfurter Volksbank, cards with a Maestro function will probably still be in use until the end of 2027, at the GLS-Bank the issuing of cards should not be stopped until July 2023, but only in October.
With Maestro gone, most banks are moving to Mastercard's “Mastercard” debit card feature, or Visa's equivalent.
This means that the giro cards can also be used abroad in the future - and offer additional options for online shopping, for example.
Savings banks: 60 percent opted for Girocard with Mastercard
According to the
Handelsblatt
, the savings banks are particularly far along with the changeover.
The Sparkasse Siegen has been using the "Mastercard" function for two years now, and all 170,000 giro cards in circulation are now equipped with it.
In contrast, the Sparkasse Niederbayern-Mitte has been using the Visa system since the beginning of December, and a total of 110,000 cards are gradually being replaced here.
According to savings bank payment service provider S-Payment, around 60 percent of savings banks have opted for a Girocard with Mastercard, and 40 percent will work with Visa in the future.
And some banks actually don't have to deal with an approaching changeover at all at the moment: there are currently no plans to abolish V-Pay, the Visa counterpart to Mastercard's Maestro function.
The system is used, for example, by the Berliner Sparkasse – the second largest savings bank in Germany.
And for the time being, nothing will change for the 60 percent of the giro cards from Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken that work with V-Pay.
(jfw)
