Laser was a debit card scheme in Ireland. The Laser scheme was maintained and operated by Laser Card Services Ltd., a not-for-profit body owned by four leading financial institutions in Ireland and overseen since 2008 by the Oversight Unit of the Central Bank. The scheme was launched in 1996 and in 2010 there were almost 3 million Laser Cards in circulation. 195 million transactions worth almost €11.2 billion were carried out on those cards in 2009. From 2007, the financial institutions which had issued Laser Cards began to replace them with Visa or MasterCard debit cards. Laser cards were withdrawn from the market on February 28 2014.