SusanDK

Taking a break from all my COVID concerns about whether we will or won't be able to keep our upcoming trip to Denmark in six weeks, I just had another minor query that I'd never had to deal with previously.

Having repatriated from Denmark to the U.S. two years ago, we no longer have Danish bank accounts, Dankort, or any VISA/MasterCard issued in Denmark. I was planning to use a U.S. based credit card (with no foreign transaction fees) for all of our expenses while in Denmark and Sweden. This will primarily be gas for the rental car, grocery stores, plus some shops, restaurants, museums, ferry tickets.

I don't have a PIN code for any of my U.S. credit cards, although most have chips. Will this be a problem?

the810

They are generally accepted but there are some exceptions (mostly ticket / vending machines) and sometimes staff gets confused.

Can you add the card into Google Pay or Apple Pay? This usually solves the problem since the PIN is never required when using your phone anyway.

SusanDK

Embarrassed to admit that I have never used Apple Pay despite having multiple Apple devices. Would that work at Danish & Swedish petrol stations and supermarkets? It's so odd to be thinking about this after living in Denmark for 30 years and taking this stuff for granted. I also used to have a Danish SIM card to swap out on my phone, but don't have that any more either.

Im a new user

Bring some cash. Although uncommon, you may find a shop which only takes Dankort and cash and then you can't use foreign cards.

If you use a card issued outside the European Economic Area, then the merchant may charge a card payment fee of up to the amount that the merchant has to pay to the bank. Back in the days when there were fees for EU cards, I always used cash while in Denmark as the fees were too high to make it worth it to pay by card. It might still be the case that it is better to use cash if you use a non-EU card, although I don't have any non-EU cards to test with.

SusanDK

Thank you, will do! I also used to have an AmEx ICC issued out of the UK but I had to give that up as well when I moved back to the U.S.

the810

It would work in a supermarket - Apple Pay works anywhere just like a normal contactless card. Gas stations may be a problem as they usually don't take contactless at automated machines.

GUWonder

Apple Pay tied to a US bank card may not necessarily work in the same way as Apple Pay tied to an EU/Schengen area bank card when it comes to some places in these countries.

By using Apple Pay connected with my US bank cards, by attempting transactions with different US cards on Apple Pay or by directly using different US cards, by breaking transaction amounts to below a few hundred DKK/SEK per transaction, and/or by some combination of that mentioned earlier in this sentence, I can usually get by using cards for most or nearly all of my transactions in the relevant Scandinavian countries. Toss in a PIN-using debit card from a big US bank, USAA and some DC-area credit unions, and I don’t need Scandinavian cash like I used to need when sticking to US bank cards for daily tourist-like transactions in the region. Hotels and high-budget restaurants in this region have no problem with accepting my US bank cards directly as swipe+sig or even just swipe at times (whether it should be that way or not). It’s at some unattended self-serve kiosks and at small, independent retailers where it can be problematic at times with swipe+sig transactions; but at least with some of the “problematic” unattended self-service kiosks there are usually alternatives if planning a bit in advance or not needing to make the transaction right then and there. For swipe+sig, having ID along can be important — restaurants never seem to ask me for ID when using my US bank cards without a PIN, but some big box shops and other retailers definitely do ask me for ID when using my US bank cards without a PIN in the area.

Weird thing is with some public transit kiosks and other swipe terminals in the region, the US cards — and/or Apple Pay with some US cards — will at times work at some places in a given operator’s system but not elsewhere (or, at times, even at the same location) in the same operator’s system even on the very same day. And so having multiple bank cards and multiple bank cards attached to Apple Pay from which to select for a transaction can be helpful.

I do run around very often with a couple thousand in DKK and in SEK in paper money, but I am not often drawing down on those stored bills.

SusanDK

Thank you! I think I will plan to have a fair amount of cash, particularly for small local restaurants, cafes and bars since we'll be in north Sjaelland and Skåne mostly. And supermarkets - we are renting a flat for a month so will be buying groceries a fair bit. But I'll try first with a card and/or Apple Pay at those.

My main concerns will be petrol stations (both Denmark and Sweden) since these are usually contactless. And the ferry lanes from Helsingør to Helsingborg which we'll probably use multiple times. My BroPass is no longer valid since I no longer have a Dankort or Danish Master Card linked to it. Although there is usually one queue with a live person so assume they can accept a US-based card with a signature.

GUWonder

US bank cards work for the bridge crossings; or at least neither I nor any driving American visitor to my homes and events has ever told me they faced a problem paying the tolls with cards while doing the drive in a private or rental car.

You may want to get tuned up for paying parking fees with some of those phone apps covering the relevant locations, either as a backup or primary means to cover parking fees.

At least in Sweden, my US Visa cards work well enough at grocery stores, but then it probably helps to have acceptable ID available for the signature transaction.

The major Swedish gas stations that have staffed convenience stores on-site often can manually run a card transaction if going inside.

Cafes — at least the chain ones — usually seem to take Apple Pay just fine with US cards. The interesting one is that the locations in Denmark may not work with Apple Pay tied to Amex while the locations in Sweden do work with Apple Pay tied to Amex. And sometimes with other brands, the dynamic is a bit different across the borders.

SusanDK

Good tip about the parking apps. I'll reactive the one I used to use with an updated payment method.

84fiero

For visitors, would passport usually work for ID verification? And is contactless pretty widespread at stores in Denmark and Sweden? I wish it would catch on a little more in the US, if Kroger and Target would go contactless in my area, that would cover the bulk of my everyday shopping.

My Barclays cards have chip and PIN. Outside the US the PIN option works part of the time. At manned terminals in countries that normally use credit card PINs, sometimes it prompts for my PIN but other times prompts for a signature, I guess depending on the programming on the device or the way the card's chip is set up. At unmanned kiosks the success rate varies, maybe 40-50%.

GUWonder

For commercial retail transactions, usually yes. At Swedish grocery stores, I use my US passports.

Contactless is increasingly widespread in both Denmark and Sweden. But the transaction value caps for contactless in Scandinavia seem to be lower than I find them in the US.and at times I still have to hit the “ok”/ “green”/enter button for some contactless transactions.


I suggest trying to reduce/eliminate the cash advance fund availability on US credit/charge cards if the card has a PIN.

Phrastus

I'm looking forward to the contactless revolution and am even occasionally able to use it here in the States! Suffice it to say, though, that it can be a little hit-or-miss here depending on the retailer and their setup.

pseudoswede

I know OP was asking about Denmark, but here is my experiences in Sweden since chip/PIN became all the rage...

* I don't own any Swedish/EU credit cards; I used my Costco Citi Visa and Chase Amazon Prime Visa cards
* I never brought my US passport anywhere (I haven't for probably 5 years)
* I use Samsung Pay on both my phone and watch; any payment terminal that accepts NFC payments ("blipp" in Swedish) bypasses the PIN requirement (Apple Pay and Goggle Pay would also be similar)
* The good news is that no matter where I was (grocery store, clothing store, coffee shop, Pressbyrån, restaurant, kebab shop, and ice cream kiosk), all payment terminals worked with my Samsung Pay (and will most likely work with Apple Pay)
* The only place where it didn't work was at a golf course where the sign said that "blipp is broken"; the employee was super confused with what to do with the signature receipt; I had to explain it to him
* Gas stations pumps rarely had NFC terminals, so I had to insert my card; it never asked for a PIN
* Arlanda Express ticket kiosk now have NFC terminals, so that was easy; before that, it never asked for a PIN

Mrs. and Miss Swede didn't use any type of NFC payment method
* Insert credit card and tell the cashier that they didn't have a PIN
* 99% of the time, the cashier had zero idea what to do and required a manager; a signature receipt would spit out and Mrs./Miss Swede would sign it
* If challenged for ID, I told them to present your Colorado driver's license; most POS terminals required an ID number, which is typically the Swedish personnnummer; I told them to use the CO DL number (which is formatted like a US SS number); I've told cashiers that this is my personnummer, and they accept it (the POS terminal simply wants some numbers entered)
* Only once an American credit card was refused (local grocery store); I went to the same grocery store and used Samsung Pay without issue
* We got Miss and Baby Swede their own Swedish national identity cards, so it should be a little bit easier in the future (in theory, they have a sammordingsnummer, which looks exactly like a personnnummer except the 7th digit is off by 6 to indicate they are foreign-born Swedish citizens)

The worst part is that most kiosks/food trucks/kebab shops don't accept cash or credit card. Unless you can setup a Swish account, which is impossible unless you have a Swedish bank account, you're basically SOL.

SusanDK

Very helpful, thank you! We do spend a fair amount of time in Sweden when we are there, day trips on the Helsingør-Helsingborg ferry, visits to Sofiero, Kullen/Mölle, Båstad, etc. and will go to cafes, restaurants, ICA, gas stations. Probably also take the ferry from Landskrona to Ven. I hadn't put my Costco or Amazon VISA cards at the top of my list to use, but will do so based on your experience, thanks!