MOSCOW, July 20. /TASS/. International payment system Mastercard is considering closing its Maestro debit card brand worldwide, Kommersant reported citing sources among market participants.

The newspaper’s sources explained the possible closure of Maestro by the insufficient profitability of the brand and low commissions on cards. In addition, one of the newspaper's sources noted that the brand's cards are not used in online commerce, which is one of the most actively developing areas for payment systems.

Sources told Kommersant that Mastercard is currently negotiating the closure of Maestro with the national payment system of Belarus. At the same time, the sources emphasized that consultations with the Belarusian payment system are being conducted within the framework of Maestro closure all over the world.

Maestro brand was created by Mastercard in 1990. In Russia, Maestro operates in a co-badging agreement with Russia's National Payment Card System (NSPK) using Mir card, which makes it possible to use the cards issued by Mir and Maestro jointly abroad. In addition to the joint Mir and Maestro card, NPSK has cards with JCB and UnionPay payment systems.