Recommendations for citizens: Have several different payment solutions

The payment infrastructure in Denmark is secure and efficient, but situations may arise where one or more payment solutions do not work as usual. You should prepare for that.

Danes are among the most digital in the world when they pay. Citizens' payments are thus dependent on a robust digital payment infrastructure. The financial sector has a strong focus on security and several emergency procedures, so it can handle many different incidents without you or the stores noticing.

However, it cannot be ruled out that situations may arise where you cannot pay as usual for a period of time. This can be due to local, short-term disruptions in a single store or chain of stores as well as national, long-term events.

You should prepare for this so that you can reduce the risk of not being able to pay and thus reduce the inconvenience for yourself.

Have several different payment solutions available: card, cash and mobile

If you have several different payment solutions, you have a better opportunity to pay if your preferred payment solution does not work.

In order for you to be well prepared, Danmarks Nationalbank recommends that you have at least 2 physical payment cards from different brands, e.g. Dankort, Mastercard or Visa, for which you can remember the PIN codes.

In addition, you should have a small amount of cash. How much depends on how much you expect to buy, but a benchmark is DKK 250 per person in the household. However, it is important that you and your household assess whether there is a need to have a larger amount of cash.

Danmarks Nationalbank also recommends that you have a payment solution on your mobile phone that makes account transfers, e.g. MobilePay or mobile banking.

Read more about the individual solutions with Robust Payments