
Visa/Plus/Maestro/Cirrus charge 1% for everything through their network - this is often hidden as part of the "exchange rate". Your own bank may add on more. It is generally still cheaper than exchanging cash.
Full Answer
Does Maestro/Cirrus ATM charge cash withdrawl fee?
Every bit of policy documentation I can find online at PayPal, and all of the printed hardcopy documentation that came with my debit card state that Maestro/Cirrus ATM transactions will incur no fee except the $1 fee charged by PayPal itself. Whats going on? Can someone explain? Please? Cirrus ATM charging cash withdrawl fee! Why?
Do I need a Maestro or Cirrus card?
Maestro cards can be extremely convenient if you live in the countries where they’re used the most: Austria, Germany and the Netherlands. But if you aren’t living in any of those three countries, you probably won’t need a Maestro card. What About Cirrus? Cirrus is Mastercard’s global network of ATMs.
Can I make payments with my Cirrus card?
Since Cirrus is an ATM network, not a payment card, you can’t make payments in-person or online using Cirrus. Your card will either be a Maestro card or a MasterCard.
What is a Maestro card and how does it work?
What Is a Maestro card? Maestro is essentially a debit card used in some parts of Europe. It allows you to do the two major things debit cards enable in other parts of the world: purchase items (both in-person and online) and withdraw cash from ATMs.

What is a Maestro debit card?
The Maestro brand enhances traditional ATM debit cards, giving cardholders secure access to their money wherever they travel—and enabling them to make purchases and get cash in local currency anytime, anywhere.
What is Cirrus ATM?
Cirrus. Cirrus ® is the brand name that stands for the global Mastercard/Cirrus ATM Network—among the largest ATM networks in the world. The Cirrus brand represents immediate deposit account access convenience at millions of ATM locations worldwide.
What is a Mastercard?
The Mastercard ® brand is one of the most widely recognized in the world, representing instant buying power, immediate deposit access convenience and security worldwide, and flexible payment options.
Where are MasterCard cards accepted?
Consumers know their Mastercard cards are accepted at millions of locations worldwide. They know they can expect to find the familiar Mastercard Brand Mark whenever and wherever they shop for products and services.
How many transactions can MasterCard handle per hour?
MasterCard’s 2012 annual report asserts that its network can handle more than 160 million transactions per hour with an average network response time of 130 milliseconds. Operating 24 hours a day every day, MasterCard reports that its processing systems have consistently maintained availability 99.9 2percent of the time.
How long does it take for a MasterCard to pay?
Griffith said MasterCard pays most credits within an hour after the settlement cutoff, and the bulk of debits come in that quickly as well. Once banks get their clearing files, they want to validate before they release funds. Most sophisticated banks have systems that conduct reconciliation very quickly, so they are able to act on settlement advice promptly. Griffith also noted that years of accuracy at MasterCard have created institutionalized trust in the system, and this underlying confidence reinforces expedient payment. While the majority of funds are transferred within the first few hours after settlement cutoff, MasterCard monitors settlement constantly throughout the day to see who has paid and who hasn’t. If
How much of the total payment card volume was charged back in 2008?
card volume in 2008, or an estimated $15 billion on that year’s total volume of $3 trillion. See Tom Cain, “Risky Business: Best Practices for Managing Cardholder Dispute and Chargeback Processes in Challenging Times,” TSYS White Paper (2010).
What is the purpose of MasterCard?
The MasterCard representatives explained that the network facilitates the simplicity of conducting transactions among the key stakeholders: cardholders (consumers, businesses, or public-sector entities), merchants, issuing banks, and acquiring banks.
What are the roles and responsibilities of MasterCard?
MasterCard Networks: Roles and Responsibilities . MasterCard operates both kinds of networks on which general-purpose payment card transactions are conducted. The first is the dual-message system, which was originally designed for credit cards but is also used today for MasterCard debit card transactions.
How are interchange fees collected?
It is also during the settlement process that interchange fees22are collected from acquiring banks and credited to issuing banks for sales transactions. For cash advances, cash withdrawals, credits, and returns, interchange flows in the opposite direction and the issuing bank pays interchange fees to the acquiring bank . Interchange fee rates are established by the network23and vary depending on a number of factors, including the type of card used, the category of merchant, the type of transaction, the merchant’s sales channel, and fraud rates associated with merchant and channel categories. All these permutations of card type, merchant type, transaction type, and channel type are denoted within the data captured as a transaction is authorized, captured, and sent forward for clearing. MasterCard analyzes these data points
Does MasterCard accept merchants?
MasterCard does not directly contract with the merchants that accept MasterCard. While it legally could do so, MasterCard’s Griffith explained that retailers historically are not as well capitalized as banks and are not subject to the same prudential oversight. To avert the risk associated with merchant failure, MasterCard prefers to have merchants sponsored into the network through an acquiring relationship with a regulated financial institution. These acquiring banks establish contractual agreements directly with merchants. Alternatively, they may sponsor merchants indirectly through a supply chain,
