Before deciding on adoption, it's important to know that Mastercard has discontinued new Maestro issuance in Europe since July 2023 and is transitioning to Debit Mastercard. In other words, Maestro is not a growing method but one whose remaining card base gradually shrinks. That said, Italy is a market where the shift to cashless payments has centered on debit and prepaid cards rather than credit cards, so existing Maestro cards that haven't yet reached their renewal cycle are still in circulation.

Maestro should therefore be approached not as a standalone method to adopt, but as a supplementary method within Italy's card acceptance setup that prevents payment failures for existing cardholders. It makes sense to first establish your primary debit scheme and digital wallets, then consider adding Maestro acceptance in categories (household goods, low-to-mid-priced consumer goods, and the like) where residual Maestro transactions are still meaningfully observed.

When a shopper pays with existing Maestro card details, the transaction is authorized following PSD2's Strong Customer Authentication (SCA / 3DS2), and Hecto Financial receives the approved payment in euros (EUR). It is then converted and settled with the merchant in Korea in whichever of USD, KRW, or JPY was selected in the contract. Since new issuance has stopped, factor into your monitoring metrics that Maestro transaction volume naturally declines with each card renewal cycle.

When integrating a card acceptance setup through Hecto Financial, the scope for accepting residual Maestro transactions can be reviewed alongside your primary card schemes. However, since this is a method whose new issuance has been discontinued, the actual coverage, fees, and maintenance conditions should be confirmed with the sales team before signing a contract.

• Business registration country

  Confirm contract eligibility for businesses registered in Korea

• Sales channels

  The integration method and priority vary depending on the online sales channel mix — owned storefront, marketplace, mobile app, and so on

• Product categories

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

• EU regulatory compliance

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

Like other card payments, Maestro transactions are received locally in euros (EUR) by Hecto Financial, converted, and settled domestically in whichever of USD, KRW, or JPY is the contract currency. The settlement cycle follows the contract terms. Given the debit-based nature of the method, refunds are processed as cancellations back to the original card, and during the transition period from Maestro to Debit Mastercard, it's worth confirming in advance the refund path for cases where the original transaction card has been closed due to card reissuance.

• Bank of Italy (Banca d'Italia)Official information on Italy's payment system and related regulations. If the content of this page differs from the actual regulations, the official source takes precedence.