There's a key fact to know upfront. Mastercard halted new Maestro issuance in Europe starting in July 2023, and Latvian banks have been replacing expired cards with Debit Mastercard. Latvia is a market where debit cards are more a part of daily life than credit cards, so it had a historical Maestro issuance base, but the number of remaining cards is now declining. Maestro should therefore be treated not as a primary method but as a backward-compatible option for existing cardholders.

If you have already integrated Mastercard/Visa family card payments, accepting Maestro is typically considered an add-on option to your existing card line rather than a separate new build. It's not too late to respond once you see a notable share of Maestro BINs in your Latvian customers' failed-payment logs, and for new designs, it's reasonable to prioritize Debit Mastercard and bank transfer methods instead.

When a customer with an existing Maestro card enters their card details, approval takes place through the Mastercard network, and online transactions are subject to 3DS2 authentication under PSD2's Strong Customer Authentication (SCA). Hecto Financial receives the approved euro (EUR) funds, converts them, and settles the amount to the Korean merchant in whichever currency — USD, KRW, or JPY — was selected under the contract.

Integrating through Hecto Financial lets a Korean corporation consider adopting Maestro payments without a separate local contract in Latvia. Actual support availability and terms (settlement cycle, fees, currency options) vary by the merchant's industry and transaction volume, so confirmation with the Hecto Financial sales team is required before signing a contract.

• Business registration country

  Confirm whether a contract is possible on a Korea-registered business basis

• Sales channels

  The integration method and priority differ depending on your online sales channel mix — owned store, open marketplace, mobile app, etc.

• Product categories handled

  Advance confirmation is needed on whether your category falls under restricted industries per Maestro's merchant policies

• EU regulatory compliance

  Confirmation is needed on compliance with EU payment regulations such as PSD2 and SEPA (see official sources below)

Maestro transactions follow the same structure as other cards — euro (EUR) received → converted by Hecto Financial → settled domestically in whichever of USD, KRW, or JPY was chosen under the contract — with the cycle set by the contract terms. Chargeback procedures under card scheme rules apply, and returns under the 14-day right of withdrawal for EU consumers, including those in Latvia, are also processed through the card refund path. As issuance shrinks and transaction volume for this method declines, dispute counts themselves may not be high, but the same processing procedures still need to be in place.

• Bank of Latvia (Latvijas Banka)Official information on Latvia's payment systems and supervision (Latvijas Banka). If actual regulations differ from this page's content, the official source takes precedence.