Mastercard has announced new requirements for offline payments across its entire European network. These standards are intended to ensure that payment transactions can continue even in the event of power or network outages.

From February 2027, all newly issued Mastercard cards in Europe will be enabled for offline payments, the company said in a statement on Thursday. By May 2027, all newly installed payment terminals and all replacement devices must also support offline payments.

This is intended to allow consumers to pay for everyday items in supermarkets, petrol stations and pharmacies, as well as at ticket machines, even if there is an outage, using chip and PIN.

Payments limited by caps

Offline payments work with spending limits stored on the card’s chip. If a terminal loses connection, the transaction can be authorised locally — up to a limit of EUR 200 per transaction.

The limit is set in advance by the cardholder’s bank. Once the connection has been restored, the transaction is then submitted for settlement.

Expansion to additional countries

The system has already been successfully introduced in Denmark, Sweden, Estonia and Latvia, Mastercard said. Now, after coordination with partners, national governments, regulators and central banks, it is to be expanded across Europe.

«Even when power or networks go down, people still need food, petrol and medicine», says Brice van de Walle, Executive Vice President, Core Payments at Mastercard. «We have seen that offline payments can make a real difference in an emergency.»