Maestro SecureCode – it’s mandatory!

Look Out for the Maestro Fine!

By Leodora Darlington

Maestro SecureCode – it’s mandatory! Firstly, the Maestro Card website tells us what the SecureCode is:

“MasterCard SecureCode is a new service that enhances your existing Maestro card. A private code gives added protection against unauthorized use of your card when you shop at participating online merchants.”

More importantly, what does this mean for your business? MasterCard and Maestro have made it compulsory for all businesses accepting MasterCard / Maestro to be able to process the new SecureCode feature, with no exceptions, also with the resulting effect that any business who fails to meet these demands could face a whopping $25,000 per month, which could be backdated to July 2009!

Supporting Maestro SecureCode, gives customers more confidence in buying from you, feeling that there is a much smaller chance of being defrauded – even if the customer chooses not to use the SecureCode function, you as a merchant still gain additional protection from fraud. In addition to this, more and more cardholders are expecting to use SecureCode or Verified by Visa as part of their online authentication process and if you do not have their preferred method of payment, they may be deferred from buying from your company.

If you do decide not to support Maestro SecureCode, you absolutely must cease to accept Master and Maestro Cards online, and make it clear to any prospective customers that it is not a payment option, in order to avoid those hefty fines!

Other new rules that were implemented on 1st July 2009 (from HSBC Merchant Services, January 2010 edition):

- MasterCard has announced that their European interchange fees and rules will be available for merchants to view on their public website http://www.mastercard.com/us/company/en/ourbusiness/interchange.html

- MasterCard has confirmed that merchants are able to apply different surcharge amounts to Credit Card transactions, Commercial Card transactions, Debit Card transaction and Maestro transactions. The existing requirement for any surcharge to bear a reasonable resemblance to the merchant’s cost of accepting the card still remains.