Maestro is Mastercard's debit brand, and new issuance in Europe stopped in July 2023, with a transition to Debit Mastercard now underway. In Iceland, where cards handle essentially all everyday payments, this transition has a direct impact. The remaining base of Maestro cards shrinks as they expire, so it should be approached not as a primary method for new adoption but only as a supplementary method for existing cardholders.

A realistic scenario is a merchant already preparing to accept the Mastercard family that wants to also cover its remaining Maestro-holding customers. If you are newly entering the Icelandic market, it is safer to prioritize Debit Mastercard and Visa together with wallet payments like Apple Pay and Google Pay, and treat Maestro as an optional addition on top of that.

Because Maestro is a debit brand, funds are deducted from the consumer's account balance immediately upon authorization, and online transactions apply 3DS2-based SCA (Strong Customer Authentication). However, since new issuance in Europe stopped in July 2023, the transactions that actually come in are limited to previously issued cards. The paid ISK amount is received and converted by Hecto Financial, then settled in whichever of USD, KRW, or JPY was chosen.

Through Hecto Financial, you can consider accepting Maestro under a contract with your Korean corporation, but given the declining transaction share caused by the halt in new issuance, it is recommended to discuss this together with an alternative such as Debit Mastercard during consultation. Actual eligibility and terms need to be confirmed before signing a contract.

• Business registration country

  Confirm contract eligibility for Korea-registered businesses

• Sales channel

  Integration method and priority differ depending on your online sales channel mix — owned storefront, marketplace, mobile app, and so on

• Product category

  Check in advance whether your products fall under a category restricted by the Maestro operator's merchant policy

• EEA regulatory application

  Iceland follows EU payment regulations such as PSD2 under the EEA Agreement, so the SCA requirement for card transactions should also be checked (see official sources below)

The flow of funds for Maestro transactions is the same as for other cards. That is, revenue generated in ISK is received and converted by Hecto Financial, then settled with the merchant in whichever of USD, KRW, or JPY was specified under contract. Because it is a debit method, refunds are credited back to the consumer's account, and since the brand itself is being phased out, it is advisable to have an alternative refund path ready in case a refund to an expired card fails. The 14-day right-of-withdrawal request from EEA consumers should also be included in the handling process.

• Seðlabanki Íslands (Central Bank of Iceland)Official information on Iceland's payment system and financial supervision (the central bank also carries out the financial supervisory function). If actual regulations differ from this page's content, the official source takes precedence.