Bank customers with a Girocard (formerly EC card) must prepare for changes. From July of this year until the end of 2027, there will no longer be a Maestro or V-Pay function for new giro cards. However, the function will still be valid on old cards until the expiration date printed on them. These cards could be used to withdraw money from ATMs in Germany and abroad and to pay directly in stores. As a replacement, banks offer so-called debit cards.
But: There are “again and again problems with the new means of payment,” writes the consumer center. This is mainly due to high fees for processing the payment. Many merchants would therefore not accept the new procedure. And: Without the previous Maestro function (or that of another payment system), the Girocard could lose its suitability for use abroad, writes the consumer center.
Credit institutions must contact their customers before issuing new cards. The consumer center advises customers to find out exactly what the differences are between the old and the new card. Only then should they agree to a new card or account model.
tünews INTERNATIONAL asked two banks in the Tübingen region how they are implementing the change. The giro cards of the Volksbank and the Kreissparkasse will remain in place. The Maestro function will be replaced by a new so-called co-badge—at the Volksbank by the Mastercard payment system, at the Sparkasse by Visa (Debit). All payments will be debited directly from the account as before. A new feature is that the giro cards will in future have a 16-digit number. This number will enable payments to be made abroad and, as a new feature, online payments.
As before, the cost of the new Girocard depends on the account model at both banks.
An overview of the different types of cards is provided by the consumer advice center at https://www.vzhh.de/themen/finanzen/immer-wieder-aerger-der-debitkarte and
https://www.verbraucherzentrale.de/geld-versicherungen/probleme-mit-der-girocard-oder-der-debitkarte-von-visa-mastercard-co-80848
Problems with the new debit card can be reported to the consumer advice center.
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Debitkarten ersetzen in Zukunft die Maestro-Funktion. Foto: tünews INTERNATIONAL / Linda Kreuzer
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