What is the difference between Maestro and MasterCard?

Most of the cards that are issued to customers by banks are maestro cards because MasterCard is issued to customers when they request for it. At times, maestro cards are also known as debit cards. Maestro cards are mostly used for paying bills, and they are the ones you use to withdraw money from the ATM. Most times, maestro cards have certain restrictions.

For example, you may find it very hard to use maestro cards for online shopping. Maestro cards are linked directly to people's bank accounts. If you are using your maestro card for any form of payment, you will be required to enter either your pin or signature.

On the other hand, MasterCard is arguably the second most widely accepted card in the world after Visa. It is issued to customers as credit, even debit cards. Out of the two, MasterCard is usually preferred to maestro card since its service is available almost in all countries of the world.

When it comes to financial cards, there are different card types that a person can choose from. One of those card types is Mastercard. A Mastercard is a credit card. Maestro is under Mastercard and it is a debit card. Along with the type of card that it is, another difference between the two is how they are authorized.

A Mastercard is authorized through a signature, while a Maestro card is authorized through a pin number. Another difference between them is in regards to interest rates. Mastercards have a much higher interest rate, compared to Maestro cards which have little to no interest rates.

Although Maestro and MasterCard belong to the same company, one of the major differences between the two is that one is a debit card, and the other is a credit card. Maestro cards are issued to customers as debit cards. There are a lot of financial institutions that issue debit cards to customers. With Maestro, customers are free to use any amount in their accounts for transactions.

Customers can purchase things online with Maestro since they own the money in their accounts. On the other hand, customers using MasterCard can only make purchases based on the amount they can borrow from the financial institutions that issue the credit card. Unlike MasterCard that uses the signature to confirm every transaction made, Maestro uses a particular pin known as Maestro pin to confirm every transaction made. MasterCard holders pay higher rates of interest for the money borrowed using MasterCard, whereas charges being paid by Maestro holders are for the services of their financial institutions.