Laser/Maestro in the UK

angeldelight

Just curious about something... I have an UB laser card (as you may have gleaned from the title), and I was just wondering if anyone else has any issues with theirs. I was in the UK last week and one shop after swiping it said it wasn't recognised, even when they manually entered the card no. and expiry date. This is despite the fact there was a Maestro sign on the till and I'd used it plenty that day already, and after that.

Then today I was paying for lunch in a cafe in Dublin and they had one of the handheld machines. She swiped it 3 times but nothing then it asked her to key in the card no., exp date and confirm that I was present. It then printed off something for me to sign and she was very surprised because it didn't ask for my pin.

The reason I'm asking here first is I know if I order a new card I have to wait over a week and I won't have access to my account for that time. Thanks

unclebill98

angeldelight wrote:

Just curious about something... I have an UB laser card (as you may have gleaned from the title), and I was just wondering if anyone else has any issues with theirs. I was in the UK last week and one shop after swiping it said it wasn't recognised, even when they manually entered the card no. and expiry date. This is despite the fact there was a Maestro sign on the till and I'd used it plenty that day already, and after that.

Then today I was paying for lunch in a cafe in Dublin and they had one of the handheld machines. She swiped it 3 times but nothing then it asked her to key in the card no., exp date and confirm that I was present. It then printed off something for me to sign and she was very surprised because it didn't ask for my pin.

The reason I'm asking here first is I know if I order a new card I have to wait over a week and I won't have access to my account for that time. Thanks

Hi, the problem is not the card its the retailers. Some of them are using older software and have not bother to update it. UB have brought in newer cards, if its a laser its a blue one and if this is the case its 100% the retailers issue and not the banks.

As for by passing the pin, it depends on the shops. They can still do it everywhere, depends again if the retailers have set there chip & pin so that it can never be bypassed.

hope that helps...

Saruman

Definatly retailers. When i was in London there was one place that could not take my visa for no obvious reason, even though i had used it that day and later on. We had to go to an ATM and get cash, there was nothing stopping us doing a walk but in the end we went back to settle.
I left no tip though because of the inconvenience.
Actually come to think of it, i decided that was the way to go and did not tip at all when there Prices are far more expensive than Dublin.

Tom Dunne

I've had trouble using my wife's UB laser card with the Mestro symbol before. I think it was Amazon.co.uk and one or two other online retailers.

stevoman

Tom Dunne wrote: »

I've had trouble using my wife's UB laser card with the Mestro symbol before. I think it was Amazon.co.uk and one or two other online retailers.

im having the exact same problem meself today. damn amazon!

leeroybrown

I wouldn't go absolving Ulster Bank of the blame here. They knowingly changed their Laser Card long before many retailers here (let alone abroad) were in a position to deal with the new one. When customers contacted them about it they would just fob them off with a line of "it's not our fault" and "you can't have an old style card".

It's interesting to say that the problem still hasn't gone away a couple of years after they first started ignoring it.

Frowzy

I used to work for Ulster Bank and I know that the Maestro System that they use in the UK is not compatible with the rest of Europe. Therefore even though your Irish Bank cards contain the Maestro symbol they will not be accepted by any UK company.

As regards not being able to use your card if you order a new one, that will only happen if the person ordering your new card is stuipd. When you're asked for the reason why a new card is being requested you can choose (a) lost or stolen or (b) card damaged. If you choose the damaged option the card will stay valid and may be processed manually in shops etc, until you receive the new one, once you use the new card for the first time the old one gets automatically cancelled.

I can't say why someone's visa was refused, if there was money available and the last payment had been made on time then it must've been the fault of the retailer. Also, in shops there will be 1 in a certain amount of transactions where a customer will be requested to sign or the retailer will be requested to call to verify the transaction, it's nothing to do with the customer, it's just a spot check type thing and you won't be arrested!!!

Hope this answers some of your questions!
F

BuffyBot

Tom Dunne wrote: »

I've had trouble using my wife's UB laser card with the Mestro symbol before. I think it was Amazon.co.uk and one or two other online retailers.

Those retailers will accept Maestro UK (what used to be Switch) - not Laser cards with Maestro symbol.

This is the big problem with Maestro cards. It's been discussed at length on this forum before - they're all basically local debit card systems (such as Laser, Switch etc) with a Maestro logo slapped on top. Sometimes they'll work (I was able to use my Laser/Maestro in some stores in the UK, but not others) and sometimes they won't. UK customers trying to pay with their cards here often encounter similar difficulties. The same applies to trying to use them in other European countries - it's a crapshoot to say the least.

This is why Visa Debit (which only Halifax offer in Ireland, currently) is a vastly superior system. Many of the major UK banks (RBS/Natwest, HSBC etc) are moving from Switch/Maestro to Visa Debit. It's a shame the Irish banks will not follow suit.

jmccoy

BuffyBot wrote: »

Those retailers will accept Maestro UK (what used to be Switch) - not Laser cards with Maestro symbol.

This is the big problem with Maestro cards. It's been discussed at length on this forum before - they're all basically local debit card systems (such as Laser, Switch etc) with a Maestro logo slapped on top. Sometimes they'll work (I was able to use my Laser/Maestro in some stores in the UK, but not others) and sometimes they won't. UK customers trying to pay with their cards here often encounter similar difficulties. The same applies to trying to use them in other European countries - it's a crapshoot to say the least.

This is why Visa Debit (which only Halifax offer in Ireland, currently) is a vastly superior system. Many of the major UK banks (RBS/Natwest, HSBC etc) are moving from Switch/Maestro to Visa Debit. It's a shame the Irish banks will not follow suit.

That would upset the whole Laser cartel. The banks here do what they want, not what the customer wants.

GerardKeating

angeldelight wrote: »

Just curious about something... I have an UB laser card (as you may have gleaned from the title), and I was just wondering if anyone else has any issues with theirs. I was in the UK last week and one shop after swiping it said it wasn't recognised, even when they manually entered the card no. and expiry date. This is despite the fact there was a Maestro sign on the till and I'd used it plenty that day already, and after that.

Because there is two "kinds" of Maestro

• UK Domestic Maestro
• International Maestro

UKDM is the old Switch/Solo cards and is not really Maestro, just a rebranding of the switch Solo.

And "International Maestro" is the "real" Maestro .

angeldelight wrote: »

Then today I was paying for lunch in a cafe in Dublin and they had one of the handheld machines. She swiped it 3 times but nothing then it asked her to key in the card no., exp date and confirm that I was present. It then printed off something for me to sign and she was very surprised because it didn't ask for my pin.

The reason I'm asking here first is I know if I order a new card I have to wait over a week and I won't have access to my account for that time. Thanks

I have noticed that a lot recently, card wont work in the External Chip-reader, but will work in the bulit in reader.

Also noticed a lot of fall-backs to Chip & Sig..

sitstill

I'm currently in Manchester and tried to use my BOI Laser/Maetsro card in 2 stores and it was refused. But in the first store the salesperson told me it always happens with the Irish ones and then she swiped it instead of using the chip and it worked. I don't know why that worked but she said thats what she always does. So in the second shop when it didnt work, I asked the guy to swipe it - and it worked fine!

Might be useful for people to try if they're having problems!

donal.hunt

Maestro is supposed to be a means for the debit systems in individual countries to be accessed internationally.

In Ireland, the national system for debit transactions is Laser and most banks provided cards that allowed POS (point of sale) and ATMs outside Ireland using the international Maestro network.

In the UK, the national system was Switch and has recently renamed to Maestro (sometimes with the UK suffix, mostly without) and utilised the same system for POS and ATM transactions internationally.

In the Netherlands, there is a separate Dutch system and some banks use Maestro for international transactions.

Depending on the interoperability between the national debit systems and the Maestro network, some functionality may not be available. e.g. In Ireland, it appears that you cannot use your Debit Card (with Maestro functionaility) to buy goods on most non-Irish internet sites that support Maestro (there are 1-2 exceptions).

I pulled this together from a bunch of sources across the internet and from talking to some friends who have accounts in the UK / Netherlands. Also check out the new thread I'm about to post about Maestro's long-term viability...