Frankfurt Consumers in Germany are increasingly paying with the Girocard, better known by its old name “EC card”, an abbreviation of Electronic Cash and the predecessor Eurocheque. 6.7 The German banks that issue the Girocard counted billions of transactions last year.
Most citizens have a Girocard, many also have two of them – around 100 million Girocards are in circulation.
As of July there will be a change to these payment cards, which will gradually become noticeable for most users. Because the “Maestro” function for international payments will be phased out.
New Girocards must now use an alternative – either from Mastercard or from the competitor Visa. The Maestro function must also be replaced on Girocards, which are due to expire this year.
In the following text on Maestro-Aus, the Handelsblatt explains why this is necessary, what the new payment cards can do, how the banks react and what exceptions there are.
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