FakecreditcardAbout Maestro card numbers
Maestro is Mastercard’s debit brand, launched in 1991. For years it was the standard debit card in much of Europe, and it is still used in many countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Mastercard announced in 2021 that banks in Europe would stop issuing new Maestro cards from July 2023, replacing them with Debit Mastercard. Existing Maestro cards stay valid until they expire, so checkouts still need to accept them.
Maestro is the most irregular format of any major brand. Numbers can be 12 to 19 digits long and start with prefixes such as 5018, 5020, 5038, 5893, 6304, 6759 and 6761–6763. Some Maestro ranges look like Mastercard (5xxx) and others like Discover or UnionPay (6xxx), so brand detection that only looks at the first digit gets them wrong. The generator above creates 16-digit numbers by default; type a longer pattern in the BIN field (for example 6759xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) to test 19-digit cards.
The 3-digit security code is on the back, but some Maestro cards are issued without one, so a robust form allows the CVV to be empty for Maestro. Online Maestro payments generally require 3D Secure: Adyen, for example, states that 3D Secure is mandatory for online Maestro payments.
For gateway sandboxes, PayPal and Braintree both document 6304 0000 0000 0000, and Adyen lists 6771 7980 2100 0008 (expiry 03/2030, CVC 737). Use the generator for everything that happens before the payment request: length checks, input masks, brand logos and stored test data.
A short Maestro test plan: paste a 16-digit and a 19-digit number and confirm both are accepted and grouped correctly; leave the CVV empty and check that the form does not block the payment; check that the Maestro logo appears (not Mastercard or Discover) for 5018, 6304 and 6759 prefixes; and change one digit to make sure the Luhn check rejects it. Then send the payment to your gateway’s sandbox and complete the 3D Secure step.
Maestro number format
| Starts with (IIN) | 5018, 5020, 5038, 5893, 6304, 6759, 6761–6763 |
|---|---|
| Number length | 12–19 digits |
| Typical layout | 6xxx xxxx xxxx xxxx |
| Security code | 3-digit code (optional on some cards) |
| Check digit | Last digit, calculated with the Luhn (mod 10) algorithm |
| Network | Mastercard |
How to test Maestro payments safely
- Generate a batch of Maestro numbers above and paste them into your form to confirm brand detection, length and formatting.
- Change one digit of a generated number — your form should now reject it, because the Luhn check fails. You can confirm why with the validator.
- Switch your payment provider to sandbox / test mode and use its documented test cards for authorization, decline and 3-D Secure scenarios.
- Never use real customer card numbers in development or staging environments.
Frequently asked questions
How many digits does a Maestro card have?
Between 12 and 19. Most current cards have 16 or 19 digits, so your form should accept the whole range for Maestro prefixes.
Is Maestro being discontinued?
Mastercard stopped new Maestro issuance in Europe from July 2023 and replaced it with Debit Mastercard. Existing cards remain valid until they expire, and Maestro is still issued in some other regions.
What is a Maestro test card number?
PayPal and Braintree document 6304 0000 0000 0000 for their sandboxes.
Are these real Maestro card numbers?
No. They follow the Maestro format but are not linked to any account and cannot be used to pay.