The Maestro function will be abolished: from July 2023, customers will no longer be able to pay with it. What this means for shopping at Lidl, Kaufland and Co.
Munich – Apart from rising prices, there are a few things that will change for customers when shopping in the supermarket in 2023. There is one innovation that is causing a particular stir and confusion: From July 2023, the Maestro function will no longer be available for EC cards after 30 years. Throughout Europe, no new EC cards with a Maestro function will be issued and merchants will no longer accept the payment function. But what does this mean for customers? What will change when it comes to payment?
Maestro function will be dropped throughout Europe from July 2023 - this is what it means for shopping at Lidl, Kaufland and Co.
If you panic now, you can breathe a sigh of relief, explains echo24.de. Yes, most of them will probably have an EC card – or giro card – with a Maestro function. Also yes: This will no longer be available from July 2023 and will no longer be available as a payment method at Lidl, Kaufland, Aldi and Co., as reported by "infranken.de", among others. But: The "consumer advice center" explains on its website that for customers in supermarkets and discounters as well as in the trade in general, "even without the Maestro function, the giro card is fully operational in Germany". This is because the Maestro function is only a so-called "co-badge". In other words, an additional function.
This means that customers will continue to be able to pay and withdraw money with a Girocard as usual in the future. "Cards with a Maestro function that have already been issued are still valid until the end of their term," explains the consumer advice centre. This "transition period" for cards already issued with a Maestro function will run until the end of 2027. So it would be wrong to speak of a complete "out" at this point. Opposite IPPEN. MEDIA has already explained to Kaufland in detail what the discontinuation of the Maestro function means for customers.
This means that customers can continue to shop in the stores of both Kaufland and Lidl without any problems. According to their own information, with Girocard, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, V-Pay, GooglePay and ApplePay and, of course, classically with cash. Meanwhile, Kaufland has even introduced a completely new payment system – which works without cash and bank cards.
From July 2023, no more Maestro function – alternatives will be needed to pay abroad
However, there is still a big but – and the main problem for EC card holders: The giro card can only be used without a Maestro function in Germany without any problems. To pay abroad, a function other than a Maestro replacement is required, for example the V-Pay function. "For the payment function abroad, banks will have to use other systems for newly issued cards from 2023," explains the consumer advice center. Another change is coming to Aldi customers, the discounter is testing an online delivery service, as HEIDELBERG24 reports.
The Maestro function will be abolished throughout Europe: from July 2023, customers will no longer be able to pay with it. © picture alliance/dpa | Sven Hoppe/ IMAGO / Zoonar / Photomontage: echo24.de
No more Maestro function from July 2023: Payments abroad possible with these alternatives
EURO Kartensysteme explains to echo24.de: Anyone who currently owns a Girocard with a Maestro function "will receive a new solution with the regular card exchange. As a rule, banks and savings banks combine the Girocard with another co-badge, e.g. Debit Mastercard, Visa Debit or the V Pay function."
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Alternatively, customers can, for example, use a credit card to pay abroad and, for example, only use the giro card without the Maestro function in Germany in the future. Depending on the bank, there are different fees for this. Here is a summary of the alternatives to the Maestro function.
Especially for merchants in Germany, however, Maestro will change something: According to the "Handelsblatt", those who have so far only accepted cards with a Maestro function will have to activate the acceptance of credit cards as an alternative or other payment methods, for example, with their card reader. As a result, retailers may incur costs.