Crossword Genius

West, South, North - after recession banks removed debit card (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

maestro

'debit card' is the definition.

'west south north after recession' is the wordplay.
'west' becomes 'mae' (I've seen this before).
'south north' becomes 'orts' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'after recession' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'orts' reversed gives 'stro'.
'mae'+'stro'='MAESTRO'

'banks removed' is the link.
This may not be correct. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.

(Other definitions for maestro that I've seen before include "Eminent musician" , "Highly skilled musician" , "Master of any art, from Italian" , "Virtuoso" , "Expert musician" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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