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Girocard
girocard is an interbank network and debit card service in Germany connecting virtually all automated teller machines (ATMs) and banks. It is based on standards and agreements developed by the German Banking Industry Committee. German girocards are commonly co-branded with Mastercard's Maestro/ Cirrus or Visa's V Pay logo, allowing cardholders to use them in other European countries. As another co-badging option, combined girocard/ JCB cards were introduced in 2016. The Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband (''German Savings Banks Association'') has announced that upcoming Sparkassen-Cards will also function as full Debit Mastercard or Visa Debit cards in addition to girocards and will have a 16-digit Mastercard/Visa number to pay online. Some banks are phasing out girocards. DKB, for instance, starting in 2023 issues its customers a Visa Debit card and charges extra for a Girocard. History German banks formed an interbank network connecting virtually all German ATMs. T ...
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Visa Debit
Visa Debit is a brand of debit card issued by Visa in many countries. Numerous banks and financial institutions issue Visa Debit cards to their customers for access to their bank accounts. In many countries the Visa Debit functionality is often incorporated on the same plastic card that allows access to ATM and any domestic networks like EFTPOS or Interac. Usage In many countries the Visa Debit functionality has been added to payment cards, to allow customers to use the card for payments on the internet, point of sale transactions and access to ATMs. Australia Bendigo Bank issued the first Visa Debit card in 1982, more than two decades before Debit Mastercard, or widespread Visa Debit use in Australia. Today it is in wide issuance, and domestically switches over local networks, though for new banks, connection to Visa is permitted. Canada In Canada, virtually all domestic debit card transactions are processed over the Interac network, though several financial institutions ...
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Cash Group
Cash Group is a cooperation of the four largest German private banks (Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, HypoVereinsbank, and Postbank) and their subsidiaries, in which they mutually waive ATM usage fees for their customers. It is not an interbank network but uses the pre-existing girocard network. With more than 7000 ATMs, the cooperating banks' ATM networks form the third largest ATM network in Germany. The cooperation was founded in 1998 and is generally not open to other members. Its primary competitor in Germany is CashPool. Background Most banks in Germany, while connected through the girocard network, charge ATM usage fees for customers of other banks. Prior to 1998, the charge was fixed to 4,00 DM (2,05 €) or 1%, whichever was higher. However, this agreement was terminated by the Sparkassen (public banks), who jointly operate the largest German ATM network, arguing that the cost of operating ATMs was unfairly laid on them when virtual banks entered the market. As a con ...
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Bankcard-Servicenetz
The Bankcard-Servicenetz () is a German ATM card interbank network group provided by the Volksbanken und Raiffeisenbanken services group. Technically it is not an interbank network but uses the pre-existing girocard network. Member banks of this cash credit group charge ATM usage fees at a low level and most customers of the co-operative banks enjoy free withdrawal from their accounts. With 19,200 ATMs the Bankcard-Servicenetz group is the second largest ATM group in Germany (after the savings banks network). In March 2012 more than 99% of the co-operative banks associated in the Federal Association of German 'Volksbanken und Raiffeisenbanken' Co-operative Banks participated in the Bankcard-Servicenetz network. The federal association publishes a list of banks that are ''not'' offering this service. Unlike other ATM groups like the Cash Group Cash Group is a cooperation of the four largest German private banks (Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, HypoVereinsbank, and Postbank) and t ...
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Debit Card
A debit card, also known as a check card or bank card, is a payment card that can be used in place of cash to make purchases. The card usually consists of the bank's name, a card number, the cardholder's name, and an expiration date, on either the front or the back. Many new cards now have a chip on them, which allows people to use their card by touch (contactless), or by inserting the card and keying in a PIN as with swiping the magnetic stripe. Debit cards are similar to a credit card, but the money for the purchase must be in the cardholder's bank account at the time of the purchase and is immediately transferred directly from that account to the merchant's account to pay for the purchase. Some debit cards carry a Stored-value card, stored value with which a payment is made (prepaid cards), but most relay a message to the cardholder's bank to withdraw funds from the cardholder's designated bank account. In some cases, the payment card number is assigned exclusively for use on ...
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CashPool
CashPool is a cooperation of a multitude of smaller or virtual German private banks, in which they mutually waive ATM usage fees for their customers. It is not an interbank network but uses the pre-existing German ATM or Maestro/ Cirrus networks. With more than 3200 ATMs, the cooperating banks' ATM networks form the smallest ATM group in Germany. The cooperation was founded in 2000. Its primary competitor in Germany is Cash Group. Background Most banks in Germany, while connected through the German ATM network, charge ATM usage fees for customers of other banks. In 1998, the six largest German private banks established Cash Group, mutually waiving these fees within the Group. After the formation, other private banks tried to join Cash Group but were not accepted into the Group. Being smaller than the six large private banks, they operated fewer ATMs and thus would have unilaterally benefited from the use of the other bank's larger networks. As a consequence, several of th ...
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Electronic Cash
Electronic cash was, until 2007, the debit card system of the German Banking Industry Committee, the association that represents the top German financial interest groups. Usually paired with a transaction account or current account, cards with an Electronic Cash logo were only handed out by proper credit institutions. An electronic card payment was generally made by the card owner entering their PIN (Personal Identification Number) at a so-called EFT- POS-terminal ( Electronic-Funds-Transfer-Terminal). The name "EC" originally comes from the unified European checking system Eurocheque. Comparable debit card systems are Maestro and Visa Electron. Banks and credit institutions who issued these cards often paired EC debit cards with Maestro functionality. These combined cards, recognizable by an additional Maestro logo, were referred to as "EC/Maestro cards". Providers All of Germany's providers registered with the Central Credit Committee are connected in the working group ''A ...
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V Pay
V Pay is a Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) debit card for use in Europe, issued by Visa Inc., Visa Europe. It uses the EMV Smart card, chip and Personal identification number, PIN system and can be co-branded with various national debit card schemes such as the German Girocard or Italy's PagoBancomat. Overview The V Pay debit card system competes with the Mastercard Maestro debit card product. However, unlike Mastercard Maestro, V Pay cards cannot be used in non-EMV environments, limiting its acceptance to those countries and merchants that use this system. Also unlike Mastercard Maestro, which is issued and accepted globally, V Pay is designed as a specifically European product, and is not issued or accepted outside European countries except for some of their overseas territories. However, some cards are co-branded with the Visa Electron system, which allows using them outside Europe. V Pay cards began to be accepted at merchants in France and Greece in 2005, and acceptance ha ...
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ATM Usage Fees
ATM usage fees are what many banks and interbank network An interbank network, also known as an ATM consortium or ATM network, is a computer network that enables ATM cards issued by a financial institution that is a member of the network to be used to perform ATM transactions through ATMs that belo ...s charge for the use of their automated teller machines (ATMs). In some cases, these fees are assessed solely for non-members of the bank; in other cases, they apply to all users. There is usually a higher fee for the use of White-label ATMs rather than bank-owned ATMs. Two types of consumer charges exist: the surcharge and the foreign fee. The surcharge fee may be imposed by the ATM owner (the ''bank'' or Independent ATM deployer) and will be charged to the consumer using the machine. The foreign fee or transaction fee is a fee charged by the card issuer (financial institution, stored value provider) to the consumer for conducting a transaction outside of their network of ...
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Single Euro Payments Area
The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) is a payment integration initiative of the European Union for simplification of bank transfers denominated in euros. , there were 41 members in SEPA, consisting of the 27 member states of the European Union, the four member states of the European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland), and the United Kingdom. Some microstates participate in the technical schemes: Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City. By 2025, Albania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia were 5 countries negotiating to join the EU already included in SEPA. SEPA covers predominantly normal bank transfers. Payment methods which have additional optional features or services, such as Mobile payments in India, mobile phone or smart card payment systems, are not directly covered. However, the instant SEPA payment scheme facilitates payment products also on smart devices. Goals The aim of SEPA as stated in 2008 was to improve ...
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Switch (debit Card)
Switch was a debit card brand in the United Kingdom from 1988 until 2002. It was then merged with Maestro, which is owned by MasterCard. History Switch was launched in 1988 by Midland Bank, National Westminster Bank and The Royal Bank of Scotland as a multifunction cheque guarantee and cash card. This merger was referred to as the "penguin wedding," due to its advertisements of penguins in different international settings created by Joel Veitch. Since then, Switch has been out of circulation and banks migrated customers from Switch to Maestro. The deal was announced in August 2002. The merger was also intended to increase the acceptance of foreign Maestro cards in the United Kingdom. This change also led to the discontinuation of Solo debit cards. Switch/Maestro cards issued by certain banks carried an issue number on the bottom of the card corresponding to the number of times a card had been issued on a particular account. This was usually because the current account n ...
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Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total population of over 84 million in an area of , making it the most populous member state of the European Union. It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, and France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands to the west. The Capital of Germany, nation's capital and List of cities in Germany by population, most populous city is Berlin and its main financial centre is Frankfurt; the largest urban area is the Ruhr. Settlement in the territory of modern Germany began in the Lower Paleolithic, with various tribes inhabiting it from the Neolithic onward, chiefly the Celts. Various Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical ...
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Eufiserv
EUFISERV (European Savings Banks Financial Services) is a European interbank network connecting the ATMs of savings banks in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. It is the largest and the only international credit union-owned interbank network in Europe. History *1988: The ATM Co-operation project of the European Savings Banks Group was set up. *1990: The company EUFISERV S.C. was founded to develop the ATM Co-operation project into a full-service interbank network. *1992: Visa International and Eufiserv signed an agreement to provide mutual cash dispensing services. *1996: MasterCard and Eufiserv signed an agreement to provide mutual cash dispensing services. *1999: American Express and Eufiserv signed an agreement to provide access to American Express cards at EUFISERV ATMs. *2005: China UnionPay and Eufiserv signed an agreement to provide access to CUP cards at EUFISERV ATMs. ...
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