How do I spend money in Sweden and Denmark? [duplicate]

I will be visiting Stockholm, Sweden and Copenhagen, Denmark for holidays in a couple weeks. I live in the US and have a Bank of America bank account and debit card.

I will be spending money in Stockholm and Copenhagen for basic expenses like food, local travel, etc. I believe my debit card will incur an international fee on every purchase which I’d rather not pay.

It seems as though Sweden and Denmark have their own currencies, Swedish krona and Danish krone, each with different exchange rates to the USD.

What’s the best and easiest way to spend money when traveling in these countries? I’d prefer not to carry a bunch of cash. Is there some kind of a prepaid card that I can load up and spend in both countries? What do most people do?

Thanks for any advice!

Best Answer

As was suggested above, you should consider getting a credit card that does not have a surcharge for foreign transactions.

Generally speaking, you should have no trouble using your cards in Sweden and Denmark. There are only two things you should be aware of. One is that debit networks are not 100% interoperable with U.S. networks. So your debit card might not work in some stores and smaller banks, but should be fine at ATMs owned by larger banks. Credit cards work everywhere.

The other is that European credit cards are Chip+PIN, while U.S. cards are Chip+Signature. This was occasionally a problem at automated ticket kiosks in railroad stations, since the kiosk would not take the credit card without a PIN. To buy a train ticket, I sometimes had to go to the ticket window and buy from the ticket agent.

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Do Denmark and Sweden use the same currency?

Scandinavia includes Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland, and they each have their own currency. People cannot use Euro or Danish Krone when paying in Sweden, except in very select places.

How do you pay for things in Sweden?

Credit cards and cash Sweden is widely regarded as the most cashless society on the planet. Most of the country's bank branches have stopped handling cash; many shops, museums and restaurants now only accept plastic or mobile payments. Most terminals in stores are supporting the use of paying with contactless cards.

Can you use US dollar in Denmark?

US dollars are accepted for larger purchases in the tourist areas of Copenhagen but don't expect to get a decent exchange rate. Your change will be returned to you in Danish kroner, also at a disadvantageous exchange rate.

What money do Denmark use?

Danish krone is the official currency of Denmark. The plural is kroner. The currency is abbreviated to DKK and its symbol is kr. Which countries use the Danish krone currency?

Why Denmark and Sweden love/hate each other?

More answers regarding how do I spend money in Sweden and Denmark? [duplicate]

Answer 2

I would get a card from one of the newer "Fintech" providers that are competing on cost in the foreign payments market. They tend to have low fees, and they are also transparent on any extra they are charging on top of the mid-market exchange rate. That's a notional fair rate where you could convert money from one currency into another and immediately back again with no losses. Most banks and traditional foreign exchange providers will use different "Buy" and "Sell" prices and if you're making a card payment it'll be hard to find out in advance how much they differ from each other.

A downside of these providers is that they provide debit cards (less consumer protection) and they don't have the infrastructure of traditional banks for dealing with problems - e.g. there are reports of people's cards being blocked and it being difficult to get them unblocked quickly. So don't completely rely on them.

Examples of newer providers are Revolut and Transferwise (I use both but have no other affiliation).

Also, if a merchant offers to charge you in USD, it's usually best to refuse the option. The rates will be worse than you'd get even from your own bank, and much worse than you'd get from a cheap provider.

Answer 3

Bring more than one card. Especially in Sweden a lot of people never use cash but if you only have one card and lose it you have a problem, especially as a tourist. So get a second card and leave it in your luggage while your primary card is in our wallet or similar.

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