fwfdan

We are doing a month long trip NO/SE/DK later this year. Thinking about three currencies and how to manage paying for things. We usually use credit cards (Amex primarily but recognize that acceptance is limited, so Visa and Mastercard as well).

We did a month early last year in Spain and were shocked by the high ATM fees. We did a month in France in 2022 and don't recall having an issue finding ATMs with no fees. I do read that Spain is out in front with ATM fees.

I assume plastic is the way to go but you never know when you might need some small local currency.... Should I look for $100 worth of NOK, SEK, DKK each before I leave? We NEVER bring local currency and always deal with it locally when we get to our destination. This is a different situation than we hit in Spain in that when we did find a bank with a low fee we just pulled out enough EUR for the rest of the trip and if we have extra no big deal - we save it for the next trip but in this case we are not sure when we will be heading back to Scandinavia.

Advice is appreciated!

:D!

The ATMs in those countries don't charge fees, though some may try to trick you with DCC.

In theory, all merchants in Denmark and Norway, but not Sweden, must accept cash (there are exceptions to this at night time). In practice you're more likely to find a merchant that tries to refuse cash than one that doesn't take card.

In 2025 Denmark is demonetizing all 1000 kroner notes, all other banknotes from before 2009, and all coins not of the current series (although you're not going to get any old coins/notes unless you go searching for them specially). Furthermore in the past few years exchanging Danish cash outside of Denmark has become really difficult and you will get an awful rate for it anywhere, even in countries where it wasn't a problem before (e.g. Thailand). The current 50-500 kroner notes are likely to be replaced by around 2030.

I wouldn't bother obtaining cash before arriving. You could withdraw 500 kroner in Denmark and Norway, if you end up not needing it, you still shouldn't have a problem spending it on your last day in each country. I wouldn't get cash in Sweden unless you have plans to spend it in a supermarket.

pseudoswede

I don't have problems going cashless in Sweden or Denmark. I haven't really been in Norway in a while, so I cannot answer that.

However, just be aware, especially in Sweden, that while cards are accepted almost anywhere, there might be issues with US-issued cards since it requires a signature. I would say that the signature requirement is bypassed about 90% of the time when I use contactless payment (e.g., Samsung Pay, Google Pay, or tapping with your credit card). The other 10% of the time (mainly grocery stores and retail stores) you'll have a very confused cashier trying to figure out what to do next. Also in Sweden, there are food stands, food trucks, and some restaurants, that don't allow either card or cash--just a Venmo-type payment system called Swish that you can't use.

fwfdan

Thanks for the replies.

And we are aware of the DCC trick. we inadvertently fell for it once last year (well - our story is that the sales clerk hit the button for us)

In Provence two years ago they seemed a bit confused by the sign requirement to the point we started carrying a pen and had it ready when we paid anything by cc. In Spain last year people did not seem to bother getting the signature.

pinniped

Spent two weeks in Scandinavia + Helsinki this past summer and went entirely cashless.

Almost entirely tap to pay using US credit cards, maybe had to sign a receipt once in a while (it wasn't much). We were mostly in the capital cities so I don't know how well this holds if your plan is to roadtrip around the countryside.

I don't recall any issues with merchants trying to push DCC. Not saying it doesn't exist, but it's not like Dublin where it felt like every pub, shop, restaurant, etc. in the city center was trying to run this scam.

It was one of our favorite trips ever, wish we had a month...

:D!

I was talking about ATMs doing DCC (where it's a bit tricky to work out which option to press, but ultimately moot if you aren't going to use cash anyway), I haven't experienced DCC at any merchant in Scandinavia.

Agree it seems rife in the centre of Dublin

fwfdan

In Spain same issue with knowing what option to select on an ATM. DCC at merchants in Spain was in quite a few places but it was clearer to understand than the ATM.

ksu

I live in Norway. I didn't use cash in Norway at all in 2023. But CC that needs to be signed for, might be a challenge.

sydunipete

I live in Sweden close to 6 months of the year. Each year I get a few hundred Kronor for my wallet just in case and I've never needed them (except to return them a few years back when they changed the banknotes!). I have Australia credit cards and usually just use apple pay. Amex has done a good job in recent years improving acceptance but my Mastercard is free of overseas transaction charges so I use that more often.

HogwartsExpress

Exactly this. No-one local uses cash for anything really.