Mastercard is enabling offline payments for all its cards early next year to keep money moving during power and network outages in Europe.
The payments giant has already introduced the offline capability in the Nordic region, with Denmark, Sweden, Estonia and Latvia being early adopters, but will expand its availability across Europe, including in the UK.
When Spain and Portugal experienced a major electricity blackout for 16 hours in 2025, millions of people were unable to make digital payments, use card terminals or get cash from ATMs.
Entso-e, the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity, said there was no single cause, and instead there were “multiple interacting factors” that led to the blackout. It described it as “the most severe and unprecedented blackout that had occurred in Europe in the past 20 years, with a major impact on citizens and society as a whole”.
The reliance of the finance sector, a critical part of national infrastructure, on payment networks and the rarity of cash in people’s pockets means long outages to networks can cause serious problems for people and the economy.
With major conflicts in the world, the utilities that payment networks rely on are at risk. For example, in May 2026, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Estonia made plans for offline payments following unexplained damage to cables in the Baltic Sea, with Russia accused of sabotage by Western governments.
At the time, Bank of Finland board member Tuomas Valimaki told Reuters: “The likelihood of major disruptions has increased because the geopolitical situation has changed worldwide. There is a war in Europe, and around that war, there is all sorts of hybrid influence and harassment, which may involve disrupting or cutting connections.”
Offline alternative
From February 2027, all new Mastercard payment cards will be able to make offline payments of up to €200, which will be cleared once connection is restored. Mastercard said all new payment terminals will have to support them by May 2027.
Brice van de Walle, executive vice-president of core payments at Mastercard, said: “When the power or network goes down, people still need to buy food, fuel and medicine.”
When the power or network goes down, people still need to buy food, fuel and medicine. Offline payments can make a real difference Brice van de Walle, Mastercard
He added: “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.”
When implemented, “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”, said Mastercard.
Offline payments work by storing spending limits on a card’s chip so when a connection is lost, a transaction can be approved at the terminal and submitted for clearing later, once the connection is restored.
Mastercard said the initial implementation in the Nordic region proved its worth during a storm in Latvia that caused a network outage, with card payments continuing in shops powered by local generators.
On another occasion, a technical outage in Denmark isolated terminals from the wider payment system, but transactions were able to continue at critical merchants.
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