Start with a key fact: Mastercard stopped issuing new Maestro cards in Europe as of July 2023, and existing cards are being replaced with Debit Mastercard upon renewal. In other words, Maestro is a shrinking method, not a growing one. Even in Sweden, a cashless market where card and mobile payments are effectively the standard, the center of gravity has already shifted to Debit Mastercard, Visa Debit, and Swish, so Maestro should be understood as a complement that keeps you from losing the remaining holders of existing cards.

There is therefore little reason for a new-entrant merchant to design an integration targeting Maestro on its own. A more realistic approach is to build out Mastercard-brand card acceptance and confirm that any remaining Maestro transactions are handled as part of that, while securing local customer coverage in Sweden through tokenized wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay combined with Swish and Klarna.

Payments from existing Maestro cardholders follow the same flow as standard card payments — entering card details and receiving approval — and additional 3DS2-based authentication may apply under the Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requirements of EU PSD2. Hecto Financial receives the approved proceeds in SEK and carries out settlement from there. Since this is a brand for which new issuance has stopped, transaction volume should be expected to decline gradually over time.

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

• Business registration country

  Confirm contract eligibility for merchants based in Korea

• Sales channels

  Integration method and priority vary depending on your mix of online sales channels — owned storefront, marketplaces, mobile apps, etc.

• Product categories

  Check in advance whether your category falls under Maestro's restricted merchant categories

• EU regulatory compliance

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

Proceeds from remaining Maestro transactions are likewise received by Hecto Financial in SEK, converted, and settled to Korea in the contracted currency — USD, KRW, or JPY. As a card payment, refunds are handled as authorization voids or partial refunds, and you should build the EU 14-day withdrawal right, which applies to Swedish consumers' online purchases, into your return and refund policy.

• Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden's central bank), Finansinspektionen (Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority)Official information on Sweden's payment systems and related regulations. If actual regulations differ from the content on this page, the official source takes precedence.