Central Banking

ECB calls for new debit card schemes

The European Central Bank (ECB) would like to see the emergence of new debit card schemes to rival the dominance of Maestro.

The central bank said in its fifth progression the Single Euro Payments Area, released on Friday, that its governing council "strongly recommends" the creation of at least one additional European debit card scheme to challenge the hegemony of MasterCard, who operate Maestro.

The ECB left the options open as to how such schemes could be introduced, saying it could be

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