What Is Mastercard Send
Mastercard Send is Mastercard's service for direct payouts to Mastercard cards (including Maestro). It enables businesses to send money to individuals instantly — for payroll disbursements, refunds, P2P transfers, and marketplace payouts. However, Mastercard Send is not available in all countries.
Why It Happens
Country not supported by Mastercard Send network. Mastercard Send has a limited list of participating countries. If the recipient's card was issued in an unsupported country, the payout is automatically declined.
Issuing bank is not enrolled in the program. Even in supported countries, not all banks are connected to Mastercard Send. The bank must have a specific agreement with Mastercard to accept such payments.
Card type not supported. Mastercard Send is primarily designed for debit cards. Credit and corporate cards may not support incoming push transactions.
Your processor's restrictions. The provider you work through may have a narrower list of supported countries than the Mastercard network itself.
Regulatory prohibitions. Some countries prohibit certain types of incoming payments from foreign senders.
Transaction limit exceeded. Similar to Visa Direct, per-transaction and daily limits apply.
What to Do
Check the list of supported countries. Consult your processor's Mastercard Send documentation or contact Mastercard directly. The list is updated regularly.
Verify the recipient's card type and bank. Ask the recipient to check with their bank whether it supports incoming payments via Mastercard Send.
Consider Visa Direct. If Mastercard Send does not work, Visa Direct may support the destination country or bank.
Use a bank transfer. SEPA (for Europe), SWIFT, or local bank transfer are more universal solutions for countries where card payouts are unavailable.
Mobile wallets as an alternative. In Africa (M-Pesa), Southeast Asia (GCash, Dana, OVO), and other regions, mobile wallets often cover countries that are unavailable for card payouts.
Switch your provider. Different processors have different agreements with Mastercard. Changing providers may expand the available countries.
FAQ
Which major countries are not supported by Mastercard Send? The list changes, but sub-Saharan Africa, parts of the Middle East, and sanctioned countries traditionally have limited coverage. Always verify the current list with your provider.
If the recipient is in Europe, does Mastercard Send work? In most EU countries, yes — but not with all banks. SEPA Credit Transfer is often more reliable and cheaper for European recipients.
How can I check if a specific card supports Mastercard Send? Use a BIN lookup to identify the issuing bank, then verify with your processor or Mastercard directly whether that bank is enrolled in the program.
Mastercard Send not working for your corridor? Marix — solutions for payment problems can help you find an alternative payout method with broader country coverage.