Malta car hire with a debit card: who accepts it

Yes, you can hire a car in Malta with a debit card — from a company whose terms accept one for the deposit. Of the 30 companies we track, seven say on their own pages that a debit card is accepted for the deposit, six ask for a credit card, two take a credit card or a cash deposit, one is unclear, two say they take no deposit at all, and for 12 we found no statement on the pages we checked.

Every quote below is from the company's own terms or website — the pages our operator records cite — as we read them on 21 September 2026. Where we found no statement, we say so rather than guess.

Which Malta companies take a debit card for the deposit

Company	The deposit card, in its own words
Car Rentals Ltd	Debit accepted: "a pre-autorisation/block of the €500 will be affected against a credit/debit card as a guarantee"
CarQ Malta	Debit accepted: "Accepted cards for deposit are solely Visa and MasterCard (credit/debit)."
Drifter	Debit accepted: "A credit / debit card able to cover the excess amount"
JS Car Hire	Debit accepted: "This amount will be blocked on the credit/debit card (Visa, Visa Electron, Visa Debit, MasterCard, MasterCard Debit)"
Malta Car Hire .Mt	Debit accepted: "Yes you can leave the security deposit through the debit card"
Mayjo Car Rentals (Gozo)	Debit accepted, with a bigger minimum block: "A minimum of €100.00 will be blocked on any credit card or €200.00 in case of a debit card."
MSG Malta Rent a Car	Debit accepted: "held on your credit or debit card, or paid in cash at the time of pickup"
addCar Malta	Credit cards only, for payment: "we only accept credit cards: Visa and MasterCard"
Autounion Malta	Credit card required: "NOT ACCEPTED : Diners, American Express, Laser , Maestro, Debit Cards, Pre-paid Cards"
Budget Malta	Credit card required: "Only Credit Cards are accepted for deposit."
Europcar Malta	Credit card required: "a major credit card in their own name to complete the booking which must be used to pay the deposit"
Aquarius Rent A Car	Credit card required: "A credit card in the main drivers name is required for every rental."
Princess Car Hire (Gozo)	Credit card asked for: "Bring a credit card in the main driver’s name for the refundable deposit."
First Car Rental Malta	Credit card, or a cash deposit: "Non credit card holders will be required to leave a cash deposit equal to the excess amount."
Gozo Garage	Credit card, or a cash deposit: "secured by a valid credit card or cash deposit if credit card is unavailable"
Avis Malta	Unclear: "in cash or major credit card"
Dolmen Car Rental (Gozo)	No deposit, by its own account: "We do not pre-authorise or hold a deposit against your account."
Roscar Malta	No deposit, by its own account: "no credit card required, and our no deposit policy"

No statement found — on the pages in our records, we found nothing about which card these companies take for the deposit: Billy's Car Hire, Goldcar Malta, Green Motion Malta, Hertz Malta, Imperial Car Rental, OK Mobility Malta, Percius Car Rentals, Sicily by Car Malta and Vai Drive; the pages for Carwiz Malta, Enterprise Malta and Sixt Malta would not load for us. That means undocumented here, not refused or accepted — if one of them suits your trip, ask it directly and get the answer in writing.

Some rows carry conditions worth reading in full:

• Car Rentals Ltd's €500 block applies when you don't buy its own zero-excess cover.
• Drifter's rental page asks for "A credit / debit card", but its terms and conditions describe "a credit card procedure known as pre-authorization" — ask which one applies to your booking.
• Mayjo pre-authorises "an amount up to the chosen excess on the credit or debit card supplied", with the minimums shown above.
• Aquarius takes a debit card only with a purchase: "If only a debit card is available, Option 3 of the Excess Waiver has to be purchased."
• Avis names "cash or major credit card" for the deposit, while the same terms list "Visa debit cards" and "Mastercard debit cards" among the payment cards it takes and say it is "not able to accept cash". Ask Avis which applies to your deposit.
• Roscar's site also says rentals without a deposit or credit card "may be available depending on the location, the individual rental company’s policies, and current vehicle availability".

How a card deposit hold works

As the operators' own wording in the table shows — "block", "blocked", "held" — a rental deposit is normally a block on your card rather than a charge. The EU's official Your Europe guidance explains the difference that matters here: a block "reserves part of your credit limit or account balance". On a credit card it uses up credit. On a debit card it comes out of the money in your bank account, which you can't spend until the block is released.

The same guidance says a trader should tell you before blocking an amount on your card and needs your approval for the exact amount, and that when you return a hire car and pay the final bill, the bank "must immediately release the blocked amount" — it words that rule for credit cards. Operators' own terms describe how long their holds can run: First Car Rental Malta says up to one month from the start of the rental, and CarQ Malta says up to 30 business days, "depending on the client's bank". CarQ adds that "if a debit card is used for the security deposit, the release period may be significantly longer and is determined solely by the client’s bank."

A debit card changes where the deposit is held, not whether there is one.

A debit card is not the same as "no deposit"

Accepting a debit card doesn't remove the deposit. The companies in the table that take one describe a deposit held on the card under their standard terms: MSG's is €450 with its standard excess option, Car Rentals Ltd's is €500 unless you buy its zero-excess cover, CarQ's is €750 on its smallest cars, Malta Car Hire .Mt's varies by car group between €250 and €1,000, Mayjo's runs up to the excess you choose, and Drifter and JS Car Hire block an amount set by the car you book. Only Roscar and Dolmen say they take no deposit at all, without an extra purchase.

If avoiding a deposit is the point, that is a different search with its own fine print — our no-deposit guide covers how those offers work and what to check.

The card has to match the driver

According to the European Consumer Centre Ireland, rental companies generally want the card for the deposit to be in the driver's name, and to be the same card you made the booking with. It adds that companies often refuse debit cards, or a card belonging to a family member or friend you're travelling with. Arrive without the card you booked with, it warns, and the company may refuse you the car — and if that card was a condition of the booking, you can lose the booking and still be charged for it.

Company terms can differ even on this. Malta Car Hire .Mt's say a hirer without a card "can use a third party credit/debit card which car holder needs to be present and must be added as an extra driver". So the card question is really two questions: will this company take a debit card for the deposit, and whose name does the card have to be in.

The terms for your booking decide

The table above records what each company published on its own site; what applies to you is the rental agreement for your own booking. The EU's guidance on hiring a car tells you to make sure you understand the terms and conditions before you hire. It also points out that a broker or intermediary books the car in your name with the rental company, and that if there is a dispute, the rental company is the one responsible for carrying out the contract unless the contract says otherwise. ECC Ireland's advice is to read the agreement before you book, checking in particular for deposits.

If you're comparing through a booking site, read the deposit section of the terms shown for your specific car before you pay.

Picking up at the airport? Compare the Malta Airport desks. Staying on Gozo? Mayjo, Dolmen, Gozo Garage and Princess are all on our Gozo page.

Before you book with a debit card

• Find the deposit rule in the terms for your booking — which cards the deposit can go on, not only which cards pay for the rental.
• Bring the card you booked with, in the name the company asks for — usually the main driver's.
• Leave room in your account for the block on top of your holiday spending: on a debit card it comes out of your balance.
• Ask how long the block will last. The published terms quoted on this page run to a month, or 30 business days.
• Get any answer from the company in writing, not only at the desk.

Sources

Company terms and pages, all read 21 September 2026 — the pages our operator records cite: Car Rentals Ltd — terms; CarQ — Malta terms; Drifter — car rental Malta and terms; JS Car Hire — terms; Malta Car Hire .Mt — FAQ and terms; Mayjo Car Hire — terms; MSG Malta — terms; addCar — Malta; Autounion — Malta terms; Budget — Malta Airport terms; Europcar — car rental Malta; Aquarius Rent A Car — terms; Princess Car Hire; First Car Rental — terms; Gozo Garage — terms; Avis — Malta terms; Dolmen Car Rental — no-deposit car hire; Roscar Malta.

How card blocks work: Your Europe — payments, transfers and cheques ("Blocked money on your card", last checked by the Commission 28/04/2026); Your Europe — hiring a car (last checked 11/05/2026); European Consumer Centre Ireland — avoid costly car hire mistakes (published 29 August 2025). All read 21 September 2026.