New debit cards

Why an updated debit card

Many payment cards still in circulation carry the V PAY and Maestro brands. These payment brands are used less and less internationally.

Abroad, payments are more often made with Visa Debit and Debit Mastercard. As a result, Dutch people outside Europe cannot pay everywhere with their V PAY or Maestro debit cards and have to rely on cash there.

Innovations and further developments by Mastercard and Visa will only be implemented on the new card brands. The Maestro and V PAY card brands are being phased out by Mastercard and Visa.

Features of the new payment cards

The renewed payment cards have some external and functional differences from the old cards of the card brands Maestro and V PAY:

• a new logo and an anti-counterfeiting hologram;
• in addition to the IBAN, the card features a card number of 16 digits or longer (PAN) and a security code of 3 or 4 digits (CVC or CVV);
• a tactile indentation in a fixed place helps visually impaired people to recognise the card and insert it correctly;
• the updated card can also be used for online payments, using the PAN, name, validity date and security code on the card.

For over-the-counter payments and cash withdrawals, there is no difference from the old cards.

What will change for consumers?

• it allows you to pay in more places outside Europe;
• you can use it to pay online, for example in online shops.

To make online payments easier, Mastercard and Visa are working on uniform solutions such as Click to Pay (CTP). This allows consumers to pay in online shops without having to enter all card details each time.

What will change for retailers?

All payment terminals in the Netherlands have been updated to recognise the updated payment cards. As a result, more foreigners can use their debit cards to pay at Dutch entrepreneurs (retailers).

The updated card offers benefits to entrepreneurs who receive card payments both online and at the counter. By linking both types of card payments, they gain better insight into customer behaviour and their loyalty programmes work better.

There are, however, three areas of concern:

• The Honour All Cards Rule (HACR) states that an entrepreneur who accepts Mastercard and Visa debit cards must also accept all other card types of both brands – i.e. credit cards as well.
• European legislation does give entrepreneurs the right to accept only debit cards from European customers and to accept other card types (such as credit cards) only if they are from countries outside Europe.
• Particularly with an online card payment, the cardholder is entitled to a so-called charge-back if the merchant does not fulfil its obligations, e.g. if the merchant does not deliver the purchase or delivers it incorrectly.

Perspective

For payments at the counter, little will change. However, the renewed debit card makes it easier to pay globally and online. The extent to which consumers will also use the card online depends on its ease of use and the offer of alternative online payment methods.

For entrepreneurs, the renewed card mainly means more (foreign) customers who can pay with it and new possibilities for online payments.