MobilePay, Revolut and Wise: how to pay for things in Denmark without a Danish bank

How cashless is Denmark, really?

Very. Denmark is one of the most card-dependent countries in Europe, and most people pay by card, phone or MobilePay almost exclusively. Supermarkets, cafés, taxis and even market stalls take contactless cards.

That is good news for a newcomer: you do not need a Danish bank account to eat, travel or buy a phone. The problems only start with services that are wired into Danish infrastructure - MobilePay, Betalingsservice and some subscription or transport top-ups.

What does MobilePay actually require?

MobilePay is stricter than people expect, because it was built on Danish identity infrastructure. To use it you need MobilePay:

• MitID, Denmark’s digital ID.
• A Danish CPR number.
• A Danish or Greenlandic telephone number.
• A bank account in your own name at a Danish, Faroese or Greenlandic bank.
• A Danish debit or credit card.
• To be at least 13 years old.

The terms confirm both the CPR requirement and the need for a bank account in a Danish, Faroese or Greenlandic bank to receive payments, verified with MitID Vipps MobilePay.

So the honest answer is: MobilePay is not available until you have CPR, MitID and a Danish bank account. In practice that means CPR and MitID first, then a bank account. See bank account for that step.

There is one useful exception around the edges. MobilePay and the Norwegian Vipps app are the same product, so you can send money to and receive money from friends in Norway, Sweden and Finland by phone number, with the country code, and pay in shops there by QR code MobilePay. That helps with Nordic friends, not with Danish landlords.

What can you do in Denmark without MobilePay?

Almost everything, using a foreign card:

• Shops, restaurants and supermarkets - contactless Visa or Mastercard, or Apple Pay and Google Pay.
• Public transport - buy tickets in the Rejsebillet app, which replaced the DOT Tickets app, or check in and out with the Rejsekort app.
• Online shopping - most Danish webshops take cards, though some offer only Dankort or MobilePay, and you cannot use those.
• Rent and bills - by bank transfer, if the recipient accepts a transfer from your foreign or Revolut/Wise account.
• Mobile phone contracts - prepaid SIMs need no Danish bank account, which is why most newcomers start there.

What you cannot do is split a bill with friends by MobilePay, or pay the many small traders who take nothing else. Friends will usually accept a bank transfer instead, though it is slower and more awkward than a MobilePay transfer.

What is NemKonto, and can you use a foreign IBAN?

NemKonto is the ordinary bank account the Danish public sector pays money into - tax refunds, SU, holiday pay, benefits. Every resident with a CPR number is expected to have one borger.dk.

Yes, you can assign a foreign bank account as your NemKonto. You can do it yourself in NemKonto’s self-service with MitID, or by completing a NemKonto form signed in front of a notary, lawyer or two witnesses and sending it in with a copy of your ID NemKonto.

Two caveats. The institution holding your account has to be a properly regulated financial institution: NemKonto lists the eligible types, including EU/EEA banks, payment institutions and e-money institutions, and warns that some providers do not have the necessary permissions NemKonto. Before you assign a Revolut or Wise account, confirm with NemKonto Support that your provider qualifies. And when you assign a foreign account you get an activation letter by physical post, which you need before the account goes live; it cannot be sent by email or Digital Post NemKonto.

Public payments are made in Danish kroner, so if your NemKonto is a foreign or non-DKK account, check what conversion and incoming-transfer fees your bank charges.

Foreigners living here must have a NemKonto to receive public payments, and if you leave Denmark you can keep one so late payouts still reach you NemKonto.

Can Revolut or Wise replace a Danish bank account?

For a few weeks or months, largely yes; for the long term, no.

Wise can receive DKK transfers from banks in Denmark, and lets you send DKK to any bank account in Denmark, Greenland or the Faroe Islands Wise. Check in your Wise account which DKK receiving details are available before you give them to an employer or landlord. It explicitly cannot receive money sent via MobilePay.

Revolut gives you a multi-currency account with a European IBAN, DKK transfers to and from Danish bank accounts, and a card that works everywhere Visa and Mastercard are accepted Revolut.

What neither replaces: MobilePay, Betalingsservice direct debits, or a Dankort for the handful of places that only take one. Treat them as a bridge, not a destination.

How do you pay rent and bills without a Danish account?

1. Ask the landlord or supplier for their account number (kontonummer) or IBAN.
2. Pay by bank transfer from Revolut, Wise or your home account.
3. Set a reminder, because there is no automatic direct debit.
4. Keep the payment reference consistent, usually your name and the invoice number.
5. Tell them you are opening a Danish account and will switch to Betalingsservice when you can.

Danish landlords usually accept a bank transfer, and many small ones accept MobilePay, which you cannot use yet. Say so early rather than after the first rent is late.

Before you transfer anything, view the property in person, or have someone you trust view it, and get a signed lease. The Danish police warn against paying a deposit or rent for a home you have not seen, and against paying into a foreign account, because bank transfers are usually impossible to reverse Politi.

What is Betalingsservice, and why can’t you use it yet?

Betalingsservice is Denmark’s direct debit system. Businesses register a payment agreement with your bank and the amount is drawn automatically on the due date.

Setting it up requires a Danish bank account. Until then you pay each bill manually, which is why bills are the most annoying part of the first two months. Once you have a Danish account, ask each supplier to move you onto Betalingsservice, and you will stop thinking about it.

Why do foreign cards get declined?

Usually one of four reasons:

• The shop only accepts Dankort, the domestic debit scheme, or only MobilePay.
• You are trying to pay a service that may require a Danish card, such as some subscriptions or transport top-ups; check with the provider.
• Your bank has flagged the transaction as unusual because it is from abroad.
• You are paying in a currency where your card charges a fee and the terminal has a foreign-card block.

Ordinary Visa and Mastercard work fine in the vast majority of shops. If a card is refused, carry a backup card from a different scheme, and keep some cash for the rare cash-only kiosk.

If a terminal offers to charge you in your home currency rather than kroner, choose kroner (DKK): the rate the terminal uses is usually worse. A shop may not add a card surcharge when both your bank and the shop’s acquirer are in the EEA, but it may add one for business cards or cards issued outside the EEA Forbrug.dk.

How rare is cash?

Cash is used less and less, but it is not optional for most shops. In staffed physical shops that also take cards or apps, the payment rules (kontantreglen) require them to accept cash between 06:00 and 22:00; late hours, unmanned self-service, distance sales and temporary events are exempt. A shop cannot opt out simply by putting up a “card only” sign Forbrugerombudsmanden. Even so, withdrawing a few hundred kroner as emergency money is sensible, and plan to pay almost everything electronically. Cash is used mostly for small private transactions; tipping is not expected in Denmark.

What it costs and how long it takes

Common mistakes

• Assuming MobilePay works with a foreign card. It does not; the requirements are listed explicitly.
• Waiting to sort CPR and MitID. Everything downstream, including the bank account, depends on them.
• No NemKonto. Public payments then go to a waiting account (ventekonto), and you must claim them within three years before they can be used against public debt or go to the state NemKonto.
• Closing your Danish account before leaving. Finish your deposit and tax settlement first.
• Relying on one card. Carry a second card and a little cash.

If something goes wrong

If a payment fails and you cannot tell why, ask the merchant which schemes they accept. The answer is usually that you are trying MobilePay or Dankort without the credentials for them.

If you cannot assign a foreign account as your NemKonto, check that your institution qualifies, and if in doubt contact NemKonto Support NemKonto.

If you have Danish income while living abroad, you can still receive it: once you are registered as having left Denmark you are not required to keep a NemKonto, but keeping one means late refunds and payments still reach you NemKonto.