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What is a Maestro card?
blueface2222
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Hiya,
Can i ask i have been given a Maestro card. I used to have a Solo. It says on it Servicecard 100 - i heard it's a better card! is it?
Online, i have been trying to purchase things. Most places i go on don't have Maestro listed in there. It's Natwest card. Will it still work if i enter in the number under MASTERCARD - it says on Wikipedia it's the same thing/Switch?
Thanks,
Blueface2222.
Can i ask i have been given a Maestro card. I used to have a Solo. It says on it Servicecard 100 - i heard it's a better card! is it?
Online, i have been trying to purchase things. Most places i go on don't have Maestro listed in there. It's Natwest card. Will it still work if i enter in the number under MASTERCARD - it says on Wikipedia it's the same thing/Switch?
Thanks,
Blueface2222.
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Comments
Switch and Maestro got married a while ago, and took the name Maestro.
This is the advert from the time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7u0q05qRn1k
See:
http://www.maestrocard.com/uk/about/switch_to_maestro.html
I'd imagine you'd select Switch if thats an option.
Everywhere online will take it, its not unique to natwest. The card type is switch/maestro.
I only have a NatWest Maestro card and have had no bother buying things online, they always have it listed on the sites I've used. And no, it's not the same as Mastercard, which is a credit card. Maestro is a debit card.
In general, Maestro (along with 'rival' Visa Debit) is given to those whose banks believe they are reasonably credit worthy, since not all of the transactions have to be electronically authorised 'online' and there is, if you are not careful with your money, for it to take you into your overdraft when the companies come to debit their amounts, since the money is not always 'set aside' from your available balance (since it is quicker and probably saves on telecoms costs).
Historically, Solo and Visa's Electron card have ALWAYS required 'online' electronic authorisation so that the balance is checked to ensure that there is enough money in the account to enable the transaction to take place and that the amount is 'earmarked' from the available balance.
Solo has been around for years, its simialr to Visa Electron, it doesn't lest you go overdrawn
Its one of them cards that pees you off when you go into a shop and try to buy something for £1.99 but you only have £1.98 in your account it will decline whereas Meastro doesn't
Halifax used to do Switch and Solo but they changed a few years ago to Visa and Visa Electron, Only banks that do Solo/Maestro now are HSBC and Natwest
You can get away with filling up with petrol at Tescos if you have £1 in you account it will still say fill up to max £60 and it will let you fill up to £60 too, I used to do it all the time coz on those accounts you have a £50 buffer anyway where you wont get charged
I like this bit from that page:
I doubt it. There's still loads of places with Access signs in the window, and how long is it since that was discontinued?
I'm only on the Card Plus account with a silly solo
And Maestro was the obvious name to take, since its logo ties in with the equivalent credit card (Mastercard).
But Maestro has been around for years as well, It may well be something to do with Europe as Maestro is used abroad alot
Maestro was a male penguin from Europe who fell in love with female UK penguin Switch. They got married, and took Mr Maestros name as he was the man!
Switch and Maestro gave birth to Solo before they got married:eek:
Solo is a love child
Solo is a slightly shabby uncle.
this person answered a similar question i posted a few months ago....