Forum: travel.stackexchange.com
Tags: <money><payment-cards><exchange><denmark>
Title: Are credit cards prevalent in Denmark?
Question: In the next days I'll spend a working period (few weeks) in Denmark (Aalborg).  I would like to know if credit cards are frequently used in Denmark, are them more or less accepted everywhere in Aalborg? Or instead, do I need local currency (cash) to buy in some places?

Answers:
sents: text: I live in Denmark (Copenhagen), and I can go weeks without using cash these days.
text: What I have is a 'Dankort' (national debit card system), so the experience doesn't necessarily transfer directly to foreign cards -- but the vast majority of places that accept
text: it also take at least Visa and MasterCard.
text: You'd need cash for bus tickets if you buy from the driver, but that's the only thing that comes to mind offhand.
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/16947/hmakholm left over Monica
score: 28
sents: text: Credit and debit cards are extremely widely accepted in Sweden and Denmark.
text: Almost every vendor of anything accepts them - from big stores and hotels to small restaurants to convenience stores.
text: I once spent an entire week in Sweden and Denmark without once buying or spending any local currency.
text: My last action was to buy a small bottle of water at Copenhagen airport, and the seller waved away my apologies for using a card for such a small amount, as if to say I was apologizing for nothing.
text: You will probably need a chip and pin card.
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/264/DJClayworth
score: 22
sents: text: One very important thing to note about credit card use in Denmark is that it no longer is common to have your card's magnetic strip read and then sign a receipt.
text: All (at least almost all) terminals in stores and hotels and hand held terminals in restaurants and even taxis expect that the card has a chip and that you know your pin code.
text: As for public transportation you can buy tickets at train stations with a credit card, but not in buses.
text: Though the bus driver has some change, don't expect the driver to be able to give change back for 100 kroner notes.
text: If you plan on travelling by bus, get hold of some 20 kroner coins.
text: Bus tickets in Denmark are area and time limited, so you can't buy a return ticket.
text: Only when travelling longer distances can you buy return tickets for trains
text: (you have to travel across regional boundaries).
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/42688/Bent
score: 17
sents: text: I spent a week in Copenhagen this year, and I didn't use any cash at all.
text: I bought transport tickets from vending machines, and paid everything with my Canadian credit card.
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/10087/Martin Argerami
score: 8
sents: text: We spent 3 weeks in Denmark and barely used any cash.
text: It would be easily possible not to use any at all, given that most hotels, restaurants and shops accept credit cards.
text: Sure, there will be a few that take cash only but nothing you cannot avoid during your stay.
text: We pretty much only used cash for street food and some parking.
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/4801/Itai
score: 7
sents: text: I live in Aalborg and from my personal experience: I honestly can't remember when I last used cash.
text: Most stores, shops, and even hot dog stands accepts most kinds of credit cards.
text: Most commonly accepted cards are Visa, MasterCard, and DanCard, on rare occasions you will find a shop that doesn't accept MasterCard.
text: (note that since I only have experience with MasterCard I can't say if same happens with the other cards)
text: If however, you find a place that doesn't accept the card you use, there would most likely be a bank nearby or an ATM machine that would accept your card.
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/52409/Simon Jensen
score: 6
sents: text: I'm from Norway where cash is about to become obsolete.
text: Even the strawberry seller in a booth in the field accepts credit card or mobile payments where I live.
text: I travel frequently to Denmark and never use cash, only visa/MC.
text: One thing that used to be common in Scandinavia is the use of debit-cards, this was due to "social" laws and regulations that said that no one living in these countries should ever need to buy food on credit.
text: This has changed over the past years and credit cards and mobile payments is widely used.
text: However American Express and Diners are not widely accepted same way over here as over there..
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/52407/Normann
score: 5
sents: text: From the other answers, things have apparently changed, but here is my experience: 10 years ago in Ålborg, most grocery stores would not accept my card (MasterCard), because it was not a "Dankort".
text: I had to withdraw cash regularly.
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/24249/njzk2
score: 4
sents: text: I have lived for a year in Aalborg and the only places in which I had to pay with cash were buses and certain bars (bars usually only accept Danish credit cards).
text: I could use my Visa in all supermarkets and stores, no matter the amount.
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/52406/coderMess
score: 3

Summary of the answers:
Cards are common for purchases of all kinds, and it is rare for a foreigner to need cash apart from in some bars that only accept Danish cards, and on buses. However, it is becoming much less common to use cards with a magnetic strip and signature.
Credit card use is widespread in Denmark and most people use cash very infrequently. However, a chip and PIN credit or debit card is required. In fact, bus tickets on the bus, parking and street food seem to be the only things you cannot buy using a credit card.