How to best use the Maestro prepaid debit card

Prepaid Maestro debit cards are accepted worldwide. They offer a reliable way to pay, which is safer than cash. This is why they are used by many organisations in the Netherlands.
In many businesses and sectors, prepaid Maestro debit cards are already being used to replace the small cash box. They also offer a good alternative to cash advances by employees and to corporate credit cards.
In this article, we take a closer look at how Maestro prepaid debit cards can be used. You will read how the cards are being used in different industries to improve the payment and claims process. Using Maestro prepaid cards facilitates the process around business expenses and improves organisational efficiency in each of these industries:
❯ Nursing and care homes;
❯ Media production companies;
❯ Logistics services.

What are prepaid Maestro debit cards?

A prepaid Maestro card is not the same as a regular bank card. You can't just withdraw money with the card. You have to recharge it first.
Normally, ‘debit’ refers to the fact that there is a balance. It means no credit is needed. This is also the idea behind a prepaid debit card. It can only be used if there is an amount of money attached to it.
The prepaid debit card does not require a bank account. This is because you spend money that has been put on the card's balance in advance. So you never accidentally overspend, as can happen with a credit card. You can only spend the amount you paid in advance.
Almost all Dutch bank cards use the Maestro logo. Maestro is an international debit card service established in 1990. It is owned by Mastercard. Maestro debit cards are available from affiliated banks and other payment institutions. Maestro is accepted at around 15 million points of sale. These are usually marked with the Maestro logo.

How to pay with prepaid Maestro debit cards?

Maestro cards can be used both directly at a point-of-sale and also at any ATM from the Maestro or Mastercard network to withdraw cash. In the Netherlands, Maestro is accepted at all ATMs and POS terminals.
You pay by showing the card at the cash register. The card is either inserted or held against the payment terminal. The payment is then authorised by the card issuer to ensure that the cardholder has sufficient balance on the card. You then confirm the payment by entering the 4-digit PIN. For lower amounts, a contactless payment may suffice.
Withdrawing money works in a similar way. Except that at ATMs you always have to enter the PIN.
Contactless payment with Maestro is a very convenient option. Especially if you want to buy something quickly. You don't need to enter a PIN code to pay. The total amount can be a maximum of €50. After the fourth contactless transaction, you have to enter the PIN code.

How do you integrate the passes into your organisation?

Using Maestro cards has some advantages for organisations. Like normal debit cards, you can make contactless payments and withdraw cash from ATMs. A key advantage is that the cards are not directly linked to the company's bank account. And you never pay fees for being in the red.
Some Maestro debit cards, such as SimpledCard's, also allow you to make online payments. This is made possible by the so-called e-Maestro functionality. It works just like a credit card payment. When you choose this payment method, you enter the 16-digit card number of the Maestro card. Then you enter the expiry date and the CVC code (findable on the back of the card) to complete the payment. It's that simple.
This unique payment method is suitable for companies in all kinds of sectors. Link the cards to your organisation's expense-recording system and you can now manage the expense process centrally. In the following chapters, we look at three specific sectors and how they deal with the challenges of business expenses.
Expense management can be a tricky bottleneck for companies. When not properly implemented, it can lead to a lot of operational hassle. And that prevents employees from doing their jobs optimally.
Most expense management software programmes do not offer integrated solutions to facilitate payments. Moreover, the claims and accountability process of many payment methods is unnecessarily time-consuming.
With a provider, who offers both an expense management software package and prepaid Maestro debit cards integrated with it, you can optimise your expense management process. And thus let the finance team and other employees do their job even better.
Business payment solutions such as Simpledcard allow companies to issue their own prepaid Maestro cards to employees. For each employee, office location or department, you can then set limits and rules.
As a finance manager, this gives you direct control and real-time insight into all the organisation's business expenses. Read more about the benefits of business prepaid debit cards and how they work.

Nursing and care homes with Maestro prepaid debit cards

Care providers face three major financial challenges. In the healthcare sector, these are mainly related to the many small expenses that are spread across several nursing homes or care centres.
Nursing homes and home care's top 3 challenges:
1. There is often a small cash on hand at each location. Cash and associated cash books require accurate record-keeping, making it time-consuming to keep track of ongoing expenses.
Replenishing the small greenhouses is a logistical job that involves all sorts of risks. And when cash runs out, employees are often asked to advance any expenses themselves, which does not always go down well.
Recording cash flow and keeping track of expense claims is time-consuming and keeps healthcare staff from their actual work.
2. In the healthcare sector, employees are increasingly being asked to work as ‘self-managing’ teams. Here, each team is completely independent and responsible for task planning and execution. Including the corresponding budgets and spending limits.
Centralised claims processes and hard-to-adjust payment methods would greatly limit the flexibility of this kind of team.
3. A lot of time is wasted on administration. With cash and cashbooks, the administration process becomes long and cumbersome. Both for the employees, who have to account for their expenses, and for the finance teams who do the auditing.
As a solution to these challenges, some nursing and care organisations use Maestro passes:
1.For self-managed teams, cash is then replaced by prepaid debit cards. This gives the team real-time insight into expenditure and they can allocate extra budget when needed. This eliminates the need to replenish petty cash or advance money themselves.
This makes the claims process quick and easy and no longer at the expense of care and nursing.
2. With a Maestro debit card and digital claim system, the finance manager can issue cards directly to new team members. Without a lengthy application process. This allows the team to be fully independent and remain as flexible as possible.
3. With a fully integrated system of prepaid debit cards and expense management software, claims and approvals are fully automated. As a result, the process takes only a few seconds. You thus save valuable time within the organisation that can be used to provide care.

How media production companies use these passes

Media production companies are responsible for making film and TV productions. They do this both in the studio and on location. Therefore, they often have many different types of business expenses.
Shooting takes place in different locations and often involves third parties (including freelancers). Business expenses can range from food, transport and accommodation to equipment hire.
When supporting these complex productions, the finance manager in a media and production company regularly faces quite a few challenges.
Key challenges during media productions:
1. Divergent spending needs. Many types of spending may be required during a production. It is important for production managers to have a means of payment that is flexible and accepted everywhere.
2. Keeping projects within budget. It is often difficult to get a good picture of ongoing expenditure. This can hinder the producer from making quick and effective decisions to stay within budget.
3. Budgets are sometimes exceeded due to unforeseen circumstances. Such as hiring additional equipment or delays in production. With regular debit and credit cards, it can be difficult to make extra money available and transfers can take precious time.
Media production companies manage their on-site expenses with prepaid cards:
1. Media production companies provide Maestro debit cards to the production manager and production team. This gives them the flexibility to make business expenses anywhere in the world.
2. By integrating an expense management system with the use of these cards, companies have full control over the production budget. Real-time visibility of all expenses removes any uncertainty and allows better decisions on finances;
3. In on-site productions, many things can go wrong and cause delays. Then the production schedule and budget have to be adjusted. In an ideal situation, the finance manager has real-time insight into the project's ongoing expenses through a good expense management system. When necessary, extra money can then be allocated immediately, so that the new expenses can be done quickly and easily.

Prepaid debit card Maestro for logistics and transport

Logistics is a sector with particular challenges for finance managers. This is mainly due to the dispersion and mobility of employees.
The top 3 challenges for logistics and transport companies:
1.Ensuring the safety of drivers.
2. Ensuring that a large team of truck and bus drivers have a flexible payment method to pay for a variety of expenses such as hotels, food, petrol, equipment etc.
3. Real-time monitoring of expenses and being able to intervene immediately in case of emergency. Such as in case of sudden repairs to trucks or buses. Or being able to immediately block cards that have been lost or stolen.
What functionalities of the expense management system with prepaid debit cards do logistics and transport companies use?
1. By using Maestro debit cards, logistics companies ensure more security for their employees. Mainly, because drivers no longer have to go out with cash in their pockets to pay their expenses.
2. Maestro prepaid debit cards are part of the Maestro and Mastercard network. They offer global coverage so employees can easily pay all their business expenses, anywhere in the world.
3. Real-time insight into expenses and the ability to recharge the card instantly. With an expense management system fully integrated with prepaid debit cards, the finance team can immediately put extra money on the cards.

Discover the possibilities of Maestro for your organisation

Several industries have already opted for Maestro prepaid debit cards from SimpledCard because of the many benefits they offer.
Whether you want to reduce cash usage or have more control over project costs, prepaid debit cards can help you with the variety of financial challenges you and your employees face.
Because of the unique combination of prepaid Maestro cards with an integrated expense management system, SimpledCard allows you to flexibly control all business expenses.
 Want to know more about using Maestro prepaid debit cards?  Contact our team from experts. Get control of your company's business expenses today.