Card Briefs: Europay Sees Growth In Maestro Debit Card

Europay International reported making progress with the MasterCard Maestro debit card brand in Belgium and Switzerland.

Europay, which is closely allied with and partly owned by MasterCard International, said several Belgian banks will "globalize" their debit cards with Maestro by summer 1999. They are ASLK/CGER Bank; Credit Communal; Anhyp; Kredietbank Group, which includes Cera Bank and Credit General; Banque Bruxelles Lambert; Generale Bank; Bacob Bank; and Ippa Bank.

Union Bank of Switzerland, meanwhile, has added Maestro to 100,000 Eurocheque cards, on its way to 500,000 as announced last February.

Europay said 32.4 million cards in Europe have gained Maestro capability since 1996, increasing the total by 55%.

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