The Dankort is the national debit card of Denmark. The very first version of this flexible payment card was issued back in 1983, before being reissued in its current form in 2001. It is by far the most popular payment card amongst Danes, with almost 4 million possessing a Dankort out of a total population of around 5 million adults. Online, close to 90% of all payments in Denmark are made using a credit or debit card, so the Dankort is by far the most popular method of online payment.
The card is free to use for Danish card holders. Merchants pay for the service via an annual fee, which varies according to the number of annual transactions. This enables smaller retailers and traders to access their customers’ payments at a more advantageous rate.
It is usually combined with a Visa card, so that in fact it operates much like two cards in one. When used at home within the Danish borders, it is used as a conventional debit card. This allows Danish consumer to use his or her Dankort for debit payments in virtually all retail stores, and also to withdraw cash from local banks and ATMs.
The dual nature of the card becomes obvious when using the card abroad or online. Here, the card can operate as a Visa card whenever necessary. This permits the card to be used to buy goods and services across the world, and to withdraw cash from over 340,000 banks and almost a million cash machines worldwide.
Cash withdrawals are limited to 2,000 Danish krone (DKK) per day, and 25,000 krone per month. When used abroad, customers can opt to pay with Danish krone or the local currency. In this way, customers have the flexibility of deciding which is the better option with regard to minimising currency conversion fees.
Because banks charge a higher fee for the use of non-Danish issued cards in Denmark, foreign visitors to Denmark will find that some retailers and traders will not accept their visa or MasterCard credit or debit cards. So bear this in mind should you fancy a quick city break in Copenhagen!
Many internationally focused online casinos now accept the Dankort, enabling Danish players worldwide to access their favourite games wherever they are in the world.
