VISA Debit Card replacing Maestro, So easier import from USA

Neferpitou

Stand User
Just found out Maestro Debit Card is being discounted for the visa debit card. One of the benefits of the visa over maestro is that its more accepted worldwide and so you will able to import anime from USA without needing a separate account which has visa card or a visa/mastercard credit card.
 
Finally. Never saw the point of Maestro at all when Visa debit was available. That said a lot of places did accept Maestro anyway, or even paypal through your Maestro account.

Maybe next they'll merge Mastercard and Visa and make things even simpler.
 
SundayMorningCall said:
eh?

does this mean, theyre gonna send me a visa card to replace my current maestro card?

Thats what my bank did with mine. It's the same pin number for it as well thankfully. I believe once i activated it my old Maestro was still valid for 45 days or until expiry date, whichever came first. I'm with HSBC btw.
 
ayase said:
Seconded. I hope us Natwestians will be affected by this change- so far it's been Paypal or bust as regards my R1 purchases.

(I don't mean to imply that I buy busts though. The logistics would be off-putting.)
 
You will find that most Visa options (electron, debit) will work as Visa cards in the states. I have had a server over there for a while with no payment problems.
 
Oh thank god.

Maestro is a massive pain in the ****, I tell you, once they switch that's it, I never need to use my Credit Card for stuff ever again, I can buy my damn wii/Microsoft points via my bank card and leave my CC for the important stuff.

Like gathering dust.
 
Only First Direct and HSBC have discontinued the Maestro card, it's actually incredibly popular on mainland Europe and the Switch brand in the UK merged with Maestro just a few years ago. I can't see it being "stopped" in the UK any time soon, especially as RBS use it a lot.
 
Damn. Another reason not to use Natwest. A little bit of advice: Don't use Natwest, everyone. In fact if I didn't buy things online I would rather keep my money in a drawer at home than have to deal with them. They're still charging me for my business account when they shouldn't be (and their charges are ridiculous) I predict this won't end well...

Does the Maestro card even have a point? It's an outdated, archaic (If Archaic Sage will pardon the expression) form of payment accepted nowhere outside of Europe except cashpoints which charge you an arm and a leg (if Edward Elric will pardon the expression).
 
Archaic Sage said:
Only First Direct and HSBC have discontinued the Maestro card, it's actually incredibly popular on mainland Europe and the Switch brand in the UK merged with Maestro just a few years ago. I can't see it being "stopped" in the UK any time soon, especially as RBS use it a lot.

Why would gone to effort of posting if it not happening???

http://www.natwest.com/olb/mandatory_me ... d_0609.pdf

Check Page 10 of the PDF for confirmation.
 
Dave, it doesn't say anywhere on that confirmation that Natwest are discontinuing the card system that replaced EuroCheque many years ago.

It states that Maestro cards can be replaced with Visas if they want to do so (and I encourage people do as Maestro cards are a nightmare for the consumer and the outlet), which is not unusual for most banks. They are merely updating their T&Cs to let them do what they want to the customer.

13.3.14 said:
When we issue you with a replacement card, we may issue it under a different card scheme from the one which applies to your previous card (for example, we may replace a card issued under the Maestro scheme with one issued under the Visa scheme). We will only do this if we reasonably believe that the facilities offered by a card issued under the new scheme will, on balance, be as good as, or better than, those offered by your previous card.
 
I have a question:

Do these new HSBC Visa debit cards get hit with fees when used for international transactions? I've never used my debit card online outside of PP, and I'm not sure what this new card changes.
 
Archaic Sage said:
Dave, it doesn't say anywhere on that confirmation that Natwest are discontinuing the card system that replaced EuroCheque many years ago.

It states that Maestro cards can be replaced with Visas if they want to do so (and I encourage people do as Maestro cards are a nightmare for the consumer and the outlet), which is not unusual for most banks. They are merely updating their T&Cs to let them do what they want to the customer.

13.3.14 said:
When we issue you with a replacement card, we may issue it under a different card scheme from the one which applies to your previous card (for example, we may replace a card issued under the Maestro scheme with one issued under the Visa scheme). We will only do this if we reasonably believe that the facilities offered by a card issued under the new scheme will, on balance, be as good as, or better than, those offered by your previous card.

It has been reported on numerous sources it that they going to change, do a bit research before say it not going happen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_Debit

"The competitors to Visa Debit in the UK debit card market are Maestro and Debit Mastercard. Maestro is issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland/NatWest, Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank. Royal Bank of Scotland Group have also announced that they will transition from Maestro to Visa Debit in 2009. This will cover all their other retail Brands including NatWest, Ulster Bank and Coutts. Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank will begin issuing Debit Mastercards in 2009."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maestro_(debit_card)

"In January 2009 First Direct and HSBC discontinued it use of Maestro card, issuing Visa Debit cards to new customers and a gradual roll-out throughout 2009 to existing customers. The scheme participates in MasterCard SecureCode initiative. The RBS Group will also be migrating to Visa Debit starting in 2009 to complete in 2011."

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/sho ... 763&page=8
 
1) I've already stated that First Choice and HSBC are discontinuing this.

2) Your official PDF from Natwest does not state that they are stopping issuing Maestro cards at all. It states that it can change your card type when it sees fit.

3) You trust Wikipedia? I could go and change that and it would be left like that for a number of hours, day, weeks or months until someone can verify that my claim is inaccurate.

4) Money Saving Expert has been known to be wrong on various occasions.

Just because a couple of banks have updated their terms of service to allow them to issue a card as they see fit does not mean that the dreaded Maestro card is being discontinued. Whilst I accept that RBS may be changing their cards in the future, they have sent you no official confirmation other than VISA announcing in September last year that they've signed a deal.

Additionally I didn't say that you were wrong, I said that they haven't discontinued it. Which is correct, they may be migrating some customers over, but that card is not being discontinued.

Furthermore, the Maestro card is much better than it's comparison the Visa Electron card for many reasons. Not only because of acceptance of the card, but also because most Electron cards don't have their details (such as PAN, BIN numbers) embossed onto the cards. This means that when a retail outlet has to revert to an older method of accepting cards (such as when systems crash) they are unable to accept Electron owing to fraud reasons. This is where Maestro wins as on most cards they are embossed and most of them tend to have Issue numbers.

Besides, the fact remains that they now have the facility to use both sets of cards which is the best option for the customer. Just ensure that you avoid Solo or AMEX cards as they're just awful.

@Aion

No idea. I only know what I know due to work :).
 
I would never ever use a debit card online.

If your details are compromised they can empty your bank account using a debit card. You are then left with no money, potentially extra charges for going overdrawn and you get the fun and games of arguing to get your money back.

With a credit card you get the chance to check your transactions before you pay for them.

Also with a credit card you have protection under the consumer credit act which means if the retailer goes bust or the retailer is crap and won't give you money back for a legitimately duff item you can claim the money back from the credit card company. Same goes for fraudulent use. The credit card issuer is liable, not you. This also works for mail order and retail sales.

This also means that the credit card companies are always keeping an eye out for iffy transactions. The only time my details were compromised they spotted it after only £30 had been taken, then phoned me, cancelled my card and refunded the money.

I got £1500 refunded by my credit card company last xmas when MFI went bust. If I'd paid on my debit card I would have lost the lot. I wrote a letter saying 'please refund me', less than a week later I got a letter saying 'we've refunded you'.
 
Archaic Sage said:
1) I've already stated that First Choice and HSBC are discontinuing this.

2) Your official PDF from Natwest does not state that they are stopping issuing Maestro cards at all. It states that it can change your card type when it sees fit.

3) You trust Wikipedia? I could go and change that and it would be left like that for a number of hours, day, weeks or months until someone can verify that my claim is inaccurate.

4) Money Saving Expert has been known to be wrong on various occasions.

Just because a couple of banks have updated their terms of service to allow them to issue a card as they see fit does not mean that the dreaded Maestro card is being discontinued. Whilst I accept that RBS may be changing their cards in the future, they have sent you no official confirmation other than VISA announcing in September last year that they've signed a deal.

Additionally I didn't say that you were wrong, I said that they haven't discontinued it. Which is correct, they may be migrating some customers over, but that card is not being discontinued.

Furthermore, the Maestro card is much better than it's comparison the Visa Electron card for many reasons. Not only because of acceptance of the card, but also because most Electron cards don't have their details (such as PAN, BIN numbers) embossed onto the cards. This means that when a retail outlet has to revert to an older method of accepting cards (such as when systems crash) they are unable to accept Electron owing to fraud reasons. This is where Maestro wins as on most cards they are embossed and most of them tend to have Issue numbers.

Besides, the fact remains that they now have the facility to use both sets of cards which is the best option for the customer. Just ensure that you avoid Solo or AMEX cards as they're just awful.

@Aion

No idea. I only know what I know due to work :).

Again you not doing the research, on the moneysavingexpert there link to this PDF http://www.visa-asia.com/ap/nz/mediacen ... _Dec08.pdf

It clearly states:

"Visa Debit is extremely important to our strategy. As a business we have been
focused on developing a set of products, industry expertise and a framework for effectively targeting cardholders. Across the world this has enabled us to re-sign existing clients and win many new clients. Most recent of these wins was the Royal Bank of Scotland business in the US and UK and HSBC wins in Asia Pacific and the Middle East. In Australia, we are also the partner of choice for ANZ and National Australia Bank, Cuscal and St George."

I don't like people entering and derailing thread by questioning the facts if they have not got evidence to the contrary.

Taking account Natwest never had visa Debit Cards before and now mentioning through the material is clear sign they are becoming one of the standard. I can't imagine the need for a solo, visa debit and maestro. The reason maestro is still been mentioned is because the visa been rolled out evantually so people will be still using maestro until the end of the year.

You can argue against moneysavingexpert if one person is claiming it but several people are saying it and bring evidence to prove it.

Wikipeda can be wrong but I can't imagine anyone been bored enough to fake information or at least with out making it slightly humorous. Also imagine maestro Wikipeda is watched like an hawk by Maestro to keep favouring themselves as they wouldn't want harmful information on there to hurt there brand. I can imagine many people having trouble with a card wanting revenge by putting the grievances with maestro on there.
 
As I've already said Dave, there's confirmation for Visa getting the contract - didn't dispute that. What I've stated is that there's no formal communication on RBS's corporate website that they've decided to stop issuing Maestro altogether. The very wording of the Visa Europe's press release (which I did see) is ambiguous. It's a typical marketing stratergy, it makes it sound like everything is moving but also gives the room to say "We didn't say that all cards are changing". The very phrase "enabled us to re-sign" gives room for movement, it's something that all good marketing and communications teams worldwide use for backtracking reasons.

People edit Wikipedia for small things all of the time out of the enjoyment of people relying on it too much. There's an entire sect of people who hate Wikipedia and make small adjustments to the pages so that it's actually in error. Unless you can see the source on Wikipedia, it's not worth trusting.

Frankly you're making an issue out of nothing and being incredibly rude with your accusations, as this thread had no purpose other than to state that some banks are discontinuing maestro cards. I'm not going to be contributing to this thread from this post onward, if you have a problem with me please take it to PMs.
 
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