The maestro cards in Germany aren't real maestro cards, but co-branded girocards that only use the maestro network outside the EU.
They end up making an actual, real chip+pin authorized bank transfer.
They end up making an actual, real chip+pin authorized bank transfer.
The only difference is that one moves money from a credit account, the other moves it from a debit account.
The costs via Visa/MasterCard are broadly the same. The clearing and settlement process is also broadly the same. Neither are as quick or finite as a bank transfer. One big difference for a merchant is that debit/credit cards have a dispute process (called chargebacks), whereas bank transfers generally don’t.