Maestro debit card - can't be used for international internet transactions.

Re: Maestro debit card - no Irish please?

Absolutely ridiculous situation, I gave my debit card back and asked the AIB to refund me the €20 government charge.
 
Re: Maestro debit card- No Irish please?

ShaneMc said:
I've heard of people using Irish Maestro cards online, when asked for the issue code, apparently 01 is accepted. not sure if this true but might be worth a try.
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I tried this with Amazon -no go. Kodak allowed me to use the Maestro by making the order online and then phoning in my card details. They still needed an issue number and out of curiosity I tried the 7 digit "card number". It accepted it!

However I tried this again with Amazon and it didn't work!

2pack - I've already contacted the IFSRA about this and I'm waiting for
feedback. I also phoned AIB headoffice who confirmed what we've discussed - no international internet Maestro transactions for us, we're stuck with the home grown variety.

They also said it was the same with BOI and Ulster. They claimed it was a security issue! Yeah right!

Surely there must be some banking service out there prepared to let us play with the grown-ups?
 
Re: Maestro debit card - no Irish please?

The sites listed are irish sites.
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CDwow.ie is not an Irish company and is not run in Ireland, despite the domain name.

I also phoned AIB headoffice who confirmed what we've discussed - no international internet Maestro transactions for us
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This is wrong. There are at least two international online payment processors who can acquire Irish Maestro transactions successfully. The problem is the merchants aren't using the right processors, or aren't interfacing with their processors correctly to handle this niche.
 
Re: Maestro debit card - no Irish please?

Perhaps you could pass this info on to AIB and ask them to explain the correct procedure to all international merchants?

AIB are definitely under the impression that irish Maestro can be used on irish sites only, and they said it was the same for BOI and Ulster.

I'd be keen to hear more about the sites that have the correct proccessors.
 
Re: Maestro debit card - no Irish please?

Raskolnikov said:
Absolutely ridiculous situation, I gave my debit card back and asked the AIB to refund me the €20 government charge.
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If you have used the card, I doubt they are under any obligation to refund the stamp duty.
 
Re: Maestro debit card - no Irish please?

Can any1 tell me what the stamp duty of a mastercard CC is? and any other charges are or the best CC is to get..'cause i've had it with this irish maestro card crud!
thanks..couldn't be arsed ringing up..to talk to some Indian...lol
 
Re: Maestro debit card - no Irish please?

CCOVICH said:
The stamp duty on any CC is €40.
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Thanks...and the only other charge is 'interest' but only if you don't pay the bill after 28 days the 'interest' is added on to the rest of the bill?

for example if i buy a pair of shoes from USA, for $50 - that means that when the bank mails me the bill I owe $50.
But if I pay the bill on the 29th day or later i will owe $50 plus interest.
Is that how it goes?
If so, do you know the rate of interest for Ireland please?

Cheers ccovich...

PS-does anybody know if maestro debit cards (Irish) are refundable??
 
Re: Maestro debit card - no Irish please?


Going off topic, but see this Key Post on credit cards. Interest rates depend on the bank, not the card (Visa, Mastercard).
 
Re: Maestro debit card - no Irish please?

It says on that their current account comes with an internationally accepted debit card. Anyone have any experience?

Also mbna has a temp disposable debit card used as a gift card which uses visa electron debit card system...

Are things improving?

If u are booking flights for a few people with ryanair you can save allot by having a visa electron debit card as they charge 3 euro per person per flight for a credit card.
 
Re: Maestro debit card - no Irish please?

Try Halifax.
Their ads claim the new current account has a debit card.
It is not Laser or Maestro but Visa International.
I don't have personal experience to back this up though. Worth checking into.
 
Re: Maestro debit card - no Irish please?

I read that the Halifax one is to be a "Visa Debit" card, they're pretty common in the UK at least.

However Ryanair still have a surcharge (€1 per sector rather than €3 on "normal" credit cards) for Visa Debit cards ... Only "Visa Electron" cards attract no surcharge - not sure what a Visa Electron card is ?
 
Re: Maestro debit card- No Irish please?

moneyblues said:
Don't you think it's odd that Ireland seems to be the only country that can't carry out internet transactions using Maestro
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Ireland is not the only country - I've also had similar problems with non-Irish accounts. When I asked the bank involved, they told me that there are different types of Maestro or Visa Electron cards - some which can be used in internet transactions and some which cannot.

So many sites charge significantly higher booking fees for using Mastercard/Visa as opposed to Maestro/Visa Electron, so it's irritating to have to pay extra for no apparent reason.
 
Re: Maestro debit card - no Irish please?


The Electron is a visa debit card lower down the chain than a standard one. A lot of places don't accept it. When I lived in England it's what you got when the bank wouldn't give you a 'real' debit card lol.
 
Re: Maestro debit card - no Irish please?

I'd guess then that the Electron requires realtime settlement, to prevent people going overdrawn. Ryanair therefore get your money straight away, so there is no surcharge, unlike with all the other options.
 
Re: Maestro debit card - no Irish please?

I can use my NIB Laser card (with Maestro logo) to pay on line. Was surprised when I realised I could and delighted cos don't want a CC.
 
Re: Maestro debit card - no Irish please?

Irish issued Maestro cards are simply a Laser Card with Maestro functionality added for physical transactions over the counter used with Chip+PIN or swipe and sign.

I've had no issue using an AIB Laser/Maestro in the UK or in France. Some merchants may be a little weird about it as they're not used to seeing non-locally issued Maestros. However, if you stick it into most credit card terminals, they'll work perfectly once there's a Maestro clearing bank connected to it.

British issued Maestro cards follow the same numbering format that was used by the UK's Switch card. This had an Issue No. or a valid to and valid from date + CCV on the back. The reality is that they're actually still switch cards and UK sites advertising that they take Maestro in fact take what was Switch i.e. UK issued Maestro only.

Laser's no where near as secure, it only has a Card number + exp. date. It most certainly can be used online, but only on sites that advertise that they accept Laser. You can use the card physically over the counter in the UK or elsewhere where the Maestro symbol is displayed. You can also use it in any Maestro branded ATM.

Maestro cards issued in other EU countries follow different formats and are equally unacceptable in the UK or outside their home country when used for a non chip+pin or swipe/sign transaction. They don't necessarily have issue number etc either.

Basically, when it comes to use online etc Maestro is a complete joke. It's not a standardised system. It's like Cirrus etc..

Visa and Mastercard operate full standardised Debit Card schemes, many UK and other European banks (as well as Halifax in Ireland) issue Visa Debit. It works exactly like a Visa credit card and will be accepted anywhere there's a Visa symbol online.

I'd say you'll see other Irish banks start to offer Visa debit or MasterCard debit once Halifax starts to have an impact. There's really no reason why they can't do it.
 
I didn't know about this and am not happy. I went through all the booking screens on ryanair then got to the payment bit and maestro didn't appear on the list. I have always used my visa debit card but knew I didn't have enough money in the account. I decided to use my Bank of Ireland Maestro card (I had booked easyjet flights with it before). It is a N.Ireland card, so is a UK one rather than an Irish one. I can withdraw money in the Republic of Ireland and have even paid in cheques there to be sent on to my bank in N.Ireland but now find I cannot book flights online, grrr. I am amazed to read the above posts, how stupid it is. Does anyone know if it is ok to use someone elses visa card to book my flight? I want to book it tonight before they go up. It is my boyfriends card so has a different surname to mine. I don't want to get to the airport and be turned away.
 
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