Mastercard to enable offline payments across Europe by 2027

Mastercard has announced new specifications for its European network to allow offline transactions during power outages or network connectivity failures. This initiative follows a major outage in April 2025 that left approximately 55 million people in Spain and Portugal unable to make digital payments.

Starting in February 2027, all new Mastercard cards issued in Europe, including Greece, will support offline functionality. By May 2027, all new or replacement point-of-sale (POS) terminals must also support this technology. The system allows consumers to use chip and PIN cards for essential purchases such as food, fuel, and medicine, as well as for automated ticket machines.

The technology works by securely storing pre-set payment limits on the card's chip. Transactions can be approved directly by the terminal without immediate bank communication, with limits reaching up to 200 euros per transaction as determined by the issuing bank. Once connectivity is restored, transactions are automatically sent for settlement.