Ten Million Switch Cards Now Dual-Branded With Maestro

Switch, the UKs leading debit card, has reached the milestone of 10 million "dual branded" cards - with the Maestro logo appearing alongside Switch on the front of the card. The Maestro logo has traditionally appeared on the back of Switch cards, but is being moved to the front over the next few years following the agreement between Switch and MasterCard to replace Switch with the Maestro global debit brand. Already the migration to Maestro has seen a dramatic increase in usage of Switch/Maestro cards abroad, as cardholders become more familiar with the Maestro logo and realise they can use their debit card overseas in just the same way as they do in the UK. More than 19 million debit card transactions were made abroad in the nine months to September - up 22% on 2002. For the whole of last year some 20 million Switch/Maestro transactions were undertaken outside the UK - thats a big increase on five years ago when there were just 6 million. To support the migration to Maestro, Switch launched an GBP8 million television and outdoor advertising campaign in September. The 12- month campaign sees Switch back on television for the first time in 10 years, and has introduced the UK to the new Switch/Maestro penguins, created specially for the campaign, to educate cardholders of the benefits of Maestro when travelling. There are currently 24 million UK Switch/Maestro cardholders who can use their debit card in over 900,000 cash machines and at over 7 million retailers worldwide. Notes to Editors - check with your bank for charges when using your card overseas. - The Maestro brand mark now appears on 466 million cards worldwide and is accepted for purchases at over seven million merchant terminals in 93 countries and territories.