- From early 2027, Mastercard’s new offline payment requirements will help people across Europe continue to pay when power or network connections fail.
8 October 2026: When a power blackout hit Spain and Portugal in April 2025, an estimated 55 million people were suddenly unable to make digital payments. Today, Mastercard announced new offline payment requirements across its European network, designed to keep money moving and payments working when power or network connections fail.
From February 2027, all newly issued Mastercard cards across Europe will be enabled to make offline payments. By May 2027, all new and replacement payment terminals will also be required to support them.
Once the requirements are implemented across Europe, people will be able to use chip and PIN during an outage to pay for essentials at supermarkets, grocery stores, service stations and pharmacies, as well as at travel and ticket machines.
Offline payments work by securely storing spending limits on a card’s chip. If a terminal loses its connection, the transaction can be approved locally, up to a limit of €200 per transaction set in advance by the cardholder’s bank. It is then submitted for clearing when the connection is restored.
Mastercard has already successfully implemented offline payments in Denmark, Sweden, Estonia and Latvia. During a recent storm in Latvia, card payments continued in shops powered by local generators. In Denmark this spring, when a technical outage isolated terminals from the wider payment system, Mastercard’s crisis procedures enabled many transactions to continue at critical merchants.
Following coordination with partners, national governments, regulators and central banks, Mastercard is now expanding the capability more widely across Europe.
The rollout builds on steps Mastercard has taken over the past 12 months including investment in local infrastructure and cybersecurity—to strengthen the resilience of Europe’s payment networks.
“When the power or network goes down, people still need to buy food, fuel and medicine,” said Brice van de Walle, Executive Vice President, Core Payments at Mastercard. “We’ve seen that offline payments can make a real difference. By expanding this technology across Europe, we can help people keep paying for the things they need, even when the unexpected happens.”
About Mastercard
Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re building a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.
About the Author
