Visa and Mastercard are growing twice as fast in Europe as retail

What happened

According to the industry service Business of Payments, the combined payment volume of Visa and Mastercard in Europe rose by nine per cent in euro terms in the second quarter of 2026, roughly double the growth rate of retail. Mastercard is accordingly examining a sale of the British payment infrastructure operator Vocalink and considering a sale of the Danish Nets group. For comparison: in the first half of the year girocard grew 0.8 per cent by turnover and four per cent by transactions.

Who it affects

Merchants in Germany whose card mix is shifting from girocard to Visa and Mastercard debit cards. That has been happening for years, because many banks now equip new customers only with a Debit Mastercard or Visa Debit.

Assessment

Nine per cent against 0.8 per cent is the most important figure for any merchant in Germany, and it appears in no girocard press release. The growth of the international schemes does not come from more consumption, but from girocard being displaced by debit cards from Visa and Mastercard. For the customer that is invisible, they hold the same piece of plastic against the terminal. For the merchant it is a cost shift: girocard typically costs them 0.2 to 0.3 per cent, the Debit Mastercard with interchange, scheme fee and margin often twice that or more.

That Mastercard wants to shed infrastructure such as Vocalink and Nets at the same time fits the picture. The card schemes are concentrating on what brings margin: the licence on every transaction. Running the lines is worth too little to them.

What to do now

1. Check on your statement what share of turnover is still girocard and how it has changed over twelve months.
2. With flat-rate tariffs, check whether the debit cards from Visa and Mastercard are billed at the girocard rate or at the credit card rate.
3. Set the application selection on the terminal so that girocard is preferred on co-badged cards wherever the customer does not object.