Trans-European debit cards in demand

Eighty per cent of European consumers want to be able to use their debit card in Europe as they do at home. The finding comes from new research from MasterCard which polled 3,000 debit card holders in Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Poland and the UK. However, most consumers are unaware that the Single European Payments Area (SEPA) due to come into force in January 2008 will bring the benefits that they seek.

The Poles lead the way in recognition of SEPA with 29 per cent recognising the term. However the situation is very different in Belgium (8 per cent), Germany (5 per cent), the UK (5 per cent), France (3 per cent) and The Netherlands (2 per cent). And even among well informed Polish cardholders, only 9 per cent think they have a good understanding of the term. This means less than 1 per cent of European debit cardholders understand SEPA.

From next January debt card holders across Europe must have payment card which let them make payments under the same conditions, rights and obligations no matter where they are located. Javier Perez, President of MasterCard Europe, commented: ‘The Single Euro Payments Area may currently be a term recognised in finance circles, but what the man-on-the-street needs to know is that they can use their debit card in the same way anywhere in Europe as in their own country.’

Mastercard believes that once debit card holders can use their cards across Europe, cash will be used even less than it is now. Eighty per cent of card holders find debit cards more convenient than cash, while 67 per cent think using their debit cards is more secure than handling paper money. It seems that cash is no longer king, and with more security and more places that accept cash, the debit card will take over, finds Mastercard’s research.