Wero will become the replacement over time.
But for now, you're stuck with Visa and Mastercard if your country doesn't have a local alternative.
Just get the cheapest option.
this post was submitted on 27 Mar 2025
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Wero flew by my radar, thanks for the hint. Three of my banks even support it already, awesome!
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(3 replies)
A local debit card is your best bet
Maestro is part of MasterCard.
Maestro isn't a local system it's a limited debit card like electron for visa. Other comments are about national Credit cards. WERO is the only European network pushed by the ECB (and begrudgingly taken up by most major European banks). It piggy backs on the Free-of-charge instant wiring SEPA system.
TIL Maestro still exists
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(6 replies)
In Canada we have Interac. Works great.
This might not help you OP, but alternative to VISA and Mastercard is UPI. India and some south east asian countries use that for transactions rapidly. Also India also built Rupay (not the currency) to break visa and mastercards duopoly.
Interesting, from the wiki page it looks like some places in the UK accept it.
If you're in the Nordics I suggest Vipps/Mobilepay/Swish as payment methods.
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(3 replies)
Easy: iDEAL (which is a shitty system, but still..)
Doest that only work in NL?
It's supposedly going to become EU-wide: https://nltimes.nl/2023/04/25/dutch-payment-processor-ideal-become-european-standard
Looking forward to that.
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(2 replies)
For any purchase made with a credit or debit cards and you give them 2-3% of your money.
I'm not sure I understand this. The stores would be the ones to pay this fee, no? Not you with your money. The price of some item doesn't change depending on whether you use cash or a debit or credit card. Not usually anyway, maybe a small local shop has done this to me once or twice in my life. Or maybe a fair stand or something.
If we wanted to stop giving Mastercard and Visa "our" money, we would have to all band together as a world community and boycott them. ๐ฌ
Please someone correct me if I'm wrong!
Edit: I mean, yes, of course the price of those small transactions are included in the price of the item. So we are all "paying" Mastercard and Visa money, even those who aren't using them. Which is still to my point that we need to all band together as a world community to boycott them, which seems futile in all honesty.
While the shop pays the fee, the fee is priced in and still the money ends up going to the card company based on your purchase.
We had this topic a lot with the tariffs recently. Yes technically the tariffs are paid by the importer or exporter. Doesn't change the fact that they end up being part of the consumer price (which is one of the purposes of tariffs)
Yes you're correct.
However, those costs are ultimately passed to you, as higher prices are the only 'trickle' that consumers will receive.
Indeed, and if you're not using MC/Visa, then the vendors just happily pocket the difference.
At least it stays in the EU in that case
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(1 replies)
You are absolutely correct
Now I just prefer my (or the store's money if you prefer) to recycle in the EU. We need it.
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(1 replies)
Technically you're right. The merchant pays the fee. But, those transactional costs are overall calculated into the prices. Like everything else e.g. transportation, packaging, wages, theft, breakage etc. So in the end it's the customer paying those 2-3% even though no price changes if you change payment.
As for the boycott: yes, sure. Voting with your wallet always works. The problem is how deeply they're burrowed into the system globally. The merchant doesn't care, it wants its money in whatever way. But if they don't offer an alternative, you can't boycott it (unless you erase that product from your life or find another merchant). And if you don't boycott it, they don't offer an alternative. Also most people simply don't care at all....
How does the store make money to pay those few % points? All consumers pay a percentage of the visa/MasterCard fee. So the prices stay the same in the store no matter the payment method.
Here in Portugal we have MB Way which is handled on a separate network. I understand that it might interoperate with Bancomat (Italy) and Bizum (Spain) also just since November, but I haven't tried yet. Almost everybody in Portugal (except non-integrating expats) seem to use it, though there are spots here and there that refuse for reasons that are unclear to me.
Contact the ECB and demand a digital Euro
Use the Carte Bancaire network in France,we have that at least.
You mean Carte Bleue? Yes but unfortunately i'm not in France
No, Carte Bleue got bought out by Visa in 2010, I do mean that one : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CB_Bank_Card_Group
Many EU countries have their system but we need to make a European common system. It's been a project from EPI (European payment initiative) and I understand Wero is kind of the first step.
I'd like to know if something works for all of EU. Because that's the only reason for me to have Visa.
Everything in my own country can be handled with "Dankort" our national universally accepted debit card. We also have local Mobile pay which is also pretty universal here.
But those don't work for purchases outside Denmark.
What about just old school cash?
Can't order anything online with cash. ๐ฉ
Sometimes you can
I've never ever seen it, but I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule. ๐ Still very limiting.
With mullvad vpn you can send them by mail and envelope with cash ๐
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(6 replies)
Sounds like you're working for your car. Simplify, man.
I don't know, ~~but from a cursory search Revolut looks like a credit/debit card option based in the UK?~~ I'm not personally familiar.
I also thought Re:Member would be an option, but that seems to be Mastercard with a mustache and sunglasses.
Revolute is a bank, not a card. They use mastercard.
And Visa too
Debit card maybe?
my debit card is mastercard...
Dang it. I had forgotten that most debit cards now have partnerships like that.
However, remember that debit card transaction fees are typically quite a bit lower (no exact numbers to support my claim, but for instance my hairdresser only takes credit for larger payments; small ones she only accepts debit, or she would just lose too much to the credit card company).
So you wouldn't NOT support MasterCard/Visa, but they WOULD receive less money.
As for non-American credit cards, someone asked a similar question on Reddit and got technically valid but unsatisfying responses.
For instance:
https://www.reddit.com/r/amexcanada/comments/1j31ir0/comment/mfwmz5y/
Like, when they say "don't encourage the US" people don't typically mean jumping to Chinese companies instead. Not to mention UnionPay is definitely not as widely supported as Visa or MasterCard.
And while Japan isn't exactly notorious for its human rights violations these days, I kinda doubt JCB cards would be very widely supported. And could you even get one if you're not Japanese?