Shifts in card brands: What merchants need to know

Keeping the list of accepted payment methods up to date isn’t just about aesthetics — it’s about trust and conversion. Customers instantly recognize the logos they use every day, and outdated or discontinued brands can create friction. 

Here are three important industry changes every merchant should be aware of. 

Maestro – end of circulation by 2027

After more than three decades, Mastercard has begun retiring the Maestro brand. Since mid-2023, banks in Europe have stopped issuing new Maestro cards, and customers are being migrated to Debit Mastercard. Existing Maestro cards will continue to work until their expiry dates, but no later than 2027. 

This shift ensures that all Mastercard-branded cards are now compatible with modern e-commerce requirements, including full online acceptance. For merchants, it means that payments will continue to work seamlessly, but when it comes to displaying accepted logos, Maestro should be phased out and replaced with Mastercard Debit. 

Visa Electron – discontinued globally

Visa has also retired Visa Electron, a product originally designed to guarantee online authorization. Most banks have already migrated customers to Visa Debit, and new Visa Electron cards are no longer being issued anywhere in the world (Visa notice, PDF). 

Today, Electron usage is close to zero in most markets. For merchants, if you accept Visa, you are covered — there is no need to display Electron separately. 

American Express – marginal share, disproportionate merchant costs

Across most markets, American Express transaction volumes have been steadily declining, with usage concentrated in niche sectors such as travel and hospitality. For the majority of e-commerce merchants, its share is negligible. 

Among Barion merchants, Amex is used only once in every 100,000 payments, while it remains by far the most expensive card type to accept, and merchant onboarding requirements have become significantly more complex. Given its marginal usage and disproportionate costs, discontinuing Amex acceptance as of September 30, 2025 is in the clear interest of both merchants and Barion, enabling a more efficient and cost-effective payment experience. 

What this means for your business

The direction is clear: the payments industry is simplifying, with fewer logos, stronger brands, and clearer communication for customers. 

That is why we have refreshed the official accepted payment methods logo strip. 

It now contains only brands that are actively issued today, presented in a modern and consistent way, fully in line with the brand guidelines of Visa, Mastercard, Apple, Google and Barion. 

👉 You can download the updated logo pack here.