MasterCard Rules (PDF)

Organization of this Chapter
Definitions
Europe Region Rules
Organization of this Chapter
The Rules in this Chapter 12 are variances and additions to the “global” Rules
that apply in the Europe Region.
Refer to Appendix A for the A.3 Europe Region geographic listing.
Solely for the purposes of Rules in this Chapter 12 and in Sections 12a and 12b,
the following terms have the meanings set forth below:
1. “Commercial Card” means in the EEA a Card issued to an undertaking or
public sector entity or one of its employees and that is intended for use in
connection with business expenses made by that undertaking or public
sector entity or by its employee, or a Card issued to a self-employed natural
person engaged in a business activity and that is intended for use for
business expenses. Cards fitting the above definition that are in issuance in
the EEA after 31 December 2010 must be identifiable as Commercial Cards.
2. “Consumer Card” means in the EEA a Card issued to a natural person that is
not used primarily for business expenses.
3. “Credit Card” means in the EEA a Consumer Card that allows the cardholder
to make purchases with a certain credit amount, which can be settled in
full by the end of a specified period (which typically is interest-free) or can
be settled in part, with the remaining balance being taken as credit and
charged with interest. A Credit Card may be linked to a current account at a
deposit-taking institution or to an account that has been set up specifically
for the use of the Credit Card. Credit Cards include charge (or delayed
debit) Cards. A charge (or delayed debit) Card is a Card that allows the
Cardholder to make purchases but does not offer credit, the amount of
the debit having to be settled in full only after a specified period (which
typically is interest-free). A charge (or delayed debit) Card may be linked to
a current account at a deposit-taking institution or to an account that has
been set up specifically for the use of the charge (or delayed debit) Card.
4. “Debit Card” means in the EEA a Consumer Card that allows a cardholder to
charge purchases directly to a current account at a deposit-taking institution.
The Debit Card serves as a device to access funds in a current account.
A Debit Card Transaction is always directly charged to a current account
i.e. no later than two business days after the clearing of the Transaction,
whereas a Credit (or charge or delayed debit) Card Transaction may be
settled by the end of a specified period or charged to a current account
more than two business days after the clearing of that Transaction. Cards
fitting the above definition that are in issuance in the EEA after 31 December
2010 must be identifiable as Debit Cards.
5. “European Economic Area” (EEA) means the following countries: Austria,
Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,
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MasterCard Rules • 12 December 2012 12-1