Under this agreement, all of AIB's debit and ATM cards will be co-branded Laser Maestro.

The agreement, which will come into effect immediately, results in AIB doubling its portfolio of Maestro-branded cards.

The conversion is the largest portfolio migration of its kind ever seen in Ireland and, as a result, AIB and MasterCard will provide a Single European Payments Area (SEPA)-compliant product in the Irish market.

Cardholders will benefit from the international reach of the Maestro brand and the strength of the AIB MasterCard partnership through increased international acceptance of their cards and a common debit card experience across the SEPA region, where paying for something or withdrawing money will cost the same and be as safe as making payments at home.

Commenting on the announcement, Linda Reid, Senior Account Manager, MasterCard Europe, said: "MasterCard has a long working relationship with AIB, being first selected as their debit partner five years ago, and we are excited to be expanding this relationship and to be supporting AIB as it becomes SEPA compliant

"The strength of our partnership ensures that Irish cardholders received the best-in-class service and, going forward, will ensure that they benefit fully under SEPA."

Mick McCarthy, Head of Card Issuing for AIB said "We have always taken an innovative approach to card payments and have a very strong relationship with MasterCard in this regard. We see this portfolio migration as a further step towards more innovative products and solutions for our cardholders and an opportunity to provide our customers with an enhanced and consistent debit card experience across the globe."

AIB will write to customers receiving a new Laser Maestro card to inform them of the change before their current card is replaced.