Mastercard makes offline payments mandatory: new terminals from May 2027
Mastercard is mandating offline payments across Europe: from February 2027 all newly issued cards will be offline-capable, and from May 2027 all new and replacement terminals must follow. During a network or power outage, the chip approves up to €200 per payment locally.
What Mastercard announced on 7 October
On 7 October 2026 Mastercard published new rules for offline payments across its European network. From February 2027 all newly issued Mastercard cards in Europe will be offline-capable, and by May 2027 all new and replacement payment terminals must support the function as well. If a terminal loses its connection, the chip approves the payment locally, up to a limit of €200 per transaction set in advance by the card-issuing bank. The payment is submitted for clearing once the connection is restored. According to Mastercard, payments during an outage are made with chip and PIN. The scheme is already live in Denmark, Sweden, Estonia and Latvia. The trigger was the April 2025 blackout in Spain and Portugal, when an estimated 55 million people were unable to pay digitally. If you are facing a device change anyway, the basics are in our guide on renting or buying a card terminal.
Which merchants the new terminal rule affects
Mastercard explicitly names supermarkets and grocery stores, service stations, pharmacies, and travel and ticket machines, in other words essential supply. The terminal requirement, however, applies to every merchant who installs or replaces a device from May 2027. In Germany, according to EURO Kartensysteme, almost 1.4 million girocard terminals are active, and a large share of them will be replaced in the coming years.
Why resilience is becoming a contract question
Until now, a network outage at the till was something nobody discussed when signing a contract. When the network drops, the queue stands still, and the merchant either takes cash or loses the sale. Mastercard is now turning that from a wish into a rule, and it is overdue. Anyone accepting more and more card payments every day needs to rely on the terminal working at the worst moment too.
From a network operator's perspective, two points remain open. First, offline does not mean without power. A countertop device on a cable goes dark in a blackout, a battery device does not, as the Latvian example with generators shows. Second, Mastercard's announcement says nothing about who carries the risk if a payment approved offline later fails. That has to be in the contract before the deadline, not after the first outage.
What merchants should do now
- Ask your payment provider in writing whether your terminal supports offline payments under the new Mastercard rules, or will do so via an update.
- Check whether battery or backup power is sufficient during an outage, especially for the till and the router.
- Before any terminal replacement or new contract, have it put in writing who is liable for payments approved offline.