Maestro is Mastercard's debit brand, but new issuance in Europe has been discontinued since July 2023, with a transition to Debit Mastercard underway. In Portugal, Maestro should be considered not as a central method for new adoption, but as a complementary method to avoid missing existing cardholders, and this content is organized on that premise.
There is a fact that needs to be established first. Mastercard discontinued new issuance of Maestro cards in Europe starting in July 2023, and cards are being replaced with Debit Mastercard as they expire. Since Portugal is a market where the SIBS-based debit payment system forms the core of card usage, Maestro's standalone share of online payments was never large to begin with, and it keeps shrinking as the transition progresses.
As a result, it makes sense to set up Visa and Mastercard general card acceptance and local methods such as Multibanco and MB WAY as the foundation, and add Maestro only as a safety net to prevent payment failures for customers still using an old, still-valid Maestro card (such as older customers who have been slower to replace their card). There is currently no reason to adopt Maestro as a standalone strategic method.
When an existing Maestro cardholder enters their card details for an online payment, approval takes place through the Mastercard network, and for transactions within the EEA, additional 3DS2-based authentication applies under the PSD2 Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requirement. Since this is a brand for which new issuance has been discontinued, it is common to configure acceptance within the general card payment flow rather than displaying Maestro as a separate option at the payment screen.
Within the scope of Hecto Financial's card payment integration, you can consider whether existing Maestro cards can be accepted. However, given that this brand is shrinking, actual coverage, fees, and settlement terms need to be confirmed through consultation together with your general card acceptance terms.
※ This section describes the general support process and does not guarantee actual integration availability for a specific merchant. Please confirm exact coverage and fees through consultation.
Confirm whether a contract is possible based on a domestic business registration
The integration method and priority vary depending on your online sales channel mix, such as owned store, marketplace, or mobile app
Advance confirmation is needed on whether your products fall under restricted categories per Maestro's merchant policy
Confirmation is needed on compliance with EU payment regulations such as PSD2 and SEPA (see official sources below)
Card acquiring funds approved via Maestro are collected by Hecto Financial in euros (EUR), and settlement to the merchant is made only after currency conversion, in whichever currency — USD, KRW, or JPY — was chosen at contract time. Refunds default to original-card cancellation, but since this is a brand in transition, it is safer to confirm before signing the contract how a refund is attributed after a card has been replaced.
The Hecto Financial team can help you review a payment method mix suited to the Portuguese market.
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