Maestro is an international debit card offered by Mastercard. You can obtain it at many different banks, as long as they are affiliated to Mastercard.
You can use the Maestro debit card as you would any debit card. Using your own funds present in your account, you can make payments in shops both online and offline, or withdraw from ATMs.
You can also opt for the prepaid card option, where you purchase prepaid credit and place it on your card for immediate use.
What Are the Advantages of Maestro?
Along with the interesting ability to use Maestro as a prepaid card, there are a myriad of advantages that come with using Maestro.
International availability
The Maestro card is available in more than 100 countries around the world. Its affiliation to Mastercard makes it an attractive option, and also some countries’ most popular debit card.
It is also considered to be a trustworthy payment method by 9 million companies around the world.
Security
When you make a payment with your Maestro debit card, your account is verified to make sure funds are available. You may only pay with available funds, limiting all overspending risks.
Also, the Maestro card is reputed to be particularly secure. The card owner must provide a PIN for every payment. Your online transactions are additionally secured by Maestro’s SecureCode – a code that only you and your bank are privy to.
As your Maestro debit card will be linked to your own bank account, all payments you make with it will benefit from the encryption and security of your chosen bank.
Using Maestro at Online Casinos
To use Maestro at your chosen casino, you’ll have to enter your card details in the banking section. You will be asked to specify the amount you wish to deposit, too. If your details are correct and if you have the funds, the sum will be transferred instantly from your account to your casino account.
In the event that you might choose to use a prepaid Maestro card, you’ll be depositing part of the credit you placed on your card into your casino account. The great thing about this is that once you use up the credit on your card, you can’t spend anything more, limiting the risk of overspending.
This way, you can place what you wish to spend that week on your prepaid card and limit yourself to that.
Maestro isn’t exactly the most popular payment method for online casinos yet. But the payment security it offers and the ability to use it as a prepaid card makes it an attractive option for gamblers.
Deposit and Withdrawal Fees
As always you should make sure to check what your casino charges for deposits or withdrawals you might make with Maestro.
You may be asked for a small percentage of what you are depositing, or what you are withdrawing, to be paid to the casino. Some casinos don’t have any fees, or only minimal ones. So it might be worth making that a criterion of selection.