Maestro is a multi-national debit card service

Maestro is a multi-national debit card service owned by MasterCard. Maestro cards are obtained from associate banks and can be linked to the card holder's current account, or they can be Prepaid cards. The cardholder presents the card at the Point of sale (POS) and this is swiped through the terminal by the assistant or the customer or inserted into a Chip and PIN device. The payment is authorised by the card issuer to ensure that the cardholder has sufficient funds in their account to make the purchase and the cardholder confirms the payment by either signing the sales receipt or entering their 4 to 6-digit PIN. Within the EU and certain other countries, Maestro is MasterCard's premier debit brand and is the equivalent of signature debit card which does not require electronic authorisation. It is on the same level as a Visa Debit or Visa Check card. In most other countries, Maestro is equivalent to a Visa Electron and is MasterCard's tertiary card. It requires electronic authorisation much like a British Solo Card. There are many countries that still do not accept Maestro card to make Point of Sales transactions at all.