New issuance of Maestro in Europe has been discontinued since July 2023, and existing cards are in a wind-down phase where they are converted to Debit Mastercard when replaced. Denmark has, from the outset, been a market where the national card Dankort (Visa co-badged) and the MobilePay app have occupied the two main pillars of payments, so Maestro's presence is limited, and it is a method that can only be considered from the perspective of broadening acceptance so as not to miss payments from remaining cardholders.

Adopting Maestro as a standalone goal when entering Denmark is therefore not recommended. A realistic order is to first put Dankort, MobilePay, and international card networks in place, and then, for merchants that also serve customers across Europe (travel, digital services, etc.), add it as a complement that also covers payments from remaining Maestro cardholders.

Payments with remaining Maestro cards proceed the same way as a standard card payment, with PSD2's SCA (3DS authentication) applied. Hecto Financial collects the approved amount in DKK, converts it, and settles it in the currency selected in the contract—USD, KRW, or JPY. Since there is no new issuance, transaction volume naturally declining over time should be factored into how you design your payment method mix.

Given that this is a wind-down method, rather than standalone adoption of Maestro, Hecto Financial reviews acceptance together with you as part of your broader card and wallet portfolio. The outlook for remaining transaction volume, as well as fees and settlement terms, varies by industry and customer mix, so they need to be confirmed before contracting.

• Business registration country

  Confirm contract eligibility as a business registered in Korea

• Sales channels

  Integration method and priority vary depending on your online sales channel mix—owned store, open marketplaces, mobile app, etc.

• Product categories

  You need to check in advance whether your products fall under categories restricted by Maestro's operator merchant policy

• EU regulatory compliance

  Confirm compliance with EU payment regulations such as PSD2 and SEPA (see official sources below)

Like other cards, proceeds from Maestro transactions generated in DKK are collected and converted by Hecto Financial, then settled domestically in the selected currency—USD, KRW, or JPY. Because transaction volume can fluctuate significantly given this method's wind-down status, we recommend monitoring it separately in your settlement reports, and your refund policy should also reflect intra-EU rules such as the 14-day right of withdrawal for EU distance sales.

• Danmarks Nationalbank (Denmark's central bank)Official information on Denmark's payment systems and related regulations. If this page's content differs from actual regulations, the official source takes precedence.