You Don't Need Money in Denmark
Your phone, watch or card will do...
Our August road trip was inspired by Denise’s round of golf with a Dane. So while we typically spent only two or three nights in cities along the way, we planned to spend 10 days in Denmark. And oddly enough, we never pulled out a euro or one Danish krone to pay a bill.
Remember
Are you old enough to remember traveler’s checks? I am.
I also remember a family gathering where the “young folks” argued with the “old folks” about using ATMs to deposit paychecks. This was well before automated payroll systems or online banking.
Yes, a lot has changed! I have often thought you can assess a country’s progress or modernity through its financial systems. In some countries, local trade (restaurants, neighborhood shops, etc) is handled in cash. There are restaurants in our small Portuguese town that only accept cash. Credit/debit card use in some locally owned stores requires a purchase of 10€ or more.
Meanwhile, in Denmark, it seems all transactions are handled by card or ApplePay.
The Laundromat
Denise wondered if we should go to the ATM to get cash when we first arrived in Denmark.1 Of course, we would use our credit/debit cards for dinners, but we often like to have walking around money. We have yet to visit an ATM throughout this entire trip. But our first afternoon in Copenhagen was overcast and rainy…so we decided to do laundry. A local man was kind enough to explain the process to us. There was a machine that allowed you to use your credit card to buy “credits”. A washing machine was x credits, the centrifuge was y credits, and the dryer time was z credits.2
It all went very smoothly…though we grossly overestimated how many credits we needed. In the end, the machine spit out lots of Danish coins for us to carry around for the next few days. We used them for tips as no one seemed to handle actual money. Our walking tour guide even began his tour by explaining
This is a free walking tour, but if you enjoy the tour you can offer me whatever payment you think is fair. I can charge your card in DK or your local currency, whichever you prefer. I can also accept cash, but it will be easier for you and I prefer if you use your card.
Surprised at the Golf Course
We played golf twice while in Denmark. The first course was near Odense and the second at the most northern tip in Skagen.3 We walked to the counter in the pro shop and met a lovely young man. We explained we were checking in for our tee time and he led us to a machine in the adjoining room. “I can help you check in here.” The machine displayed several questions (select your tee time, 9 or 18 holes, what is each player’s handicap, do you want a trolley or cart, etc.) and then accepted our payment. The nearby printer then provided our scorecards with handicap holes marked appropriately.
It turned out that checking people in was not in his job description. He was the sales clerk for the pro shop. But as we looked very confused he offered his assistance.
We thought that this might be unique to this particular club, but learned that it was the way all clubs in Denmark handled tee times. We played in Skagen with a couple we had met at our home course in Portugal. I mentioned that we found the check-in machines very interesting. “Yes, we try to use automation for all repetitive tasks in Denmark. We are very proud of this type of innovation.”
In Every Park
This brings me to lawnmowers. Rechargeable, programmable, electric lawnmowers. Now I should know a thing or two about lawnmowers.4 My father owned a lawnmower sales and repair shop in NE Philly. I worked there some weekends doing parts inventory. (I think it was just busy work to supplement my allowance.) And I know of all the things American homeowners own, typical gas-powered lawnmowers are major polluters.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), gas-powered lawnmowers can emit as much pollution in one hour as a car driven for 100 miles. These pollutants include carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). — The Momentum.com
So I should not have been surprised to see little recharging huts and lawnmowers like the one above working away in every city park. I Googled these wonders of modern technology and even watched a YouTube video about them. Yes, they are expensive…but they free up your weekend and are good for the environment.
So if you are planning a trip to Denmark, don’t pull cash out of your wallet or run to an ATM.5 The Danes are very proud of their embrace of technology. And they should be.
Até à próxima semana, tchau.
Nanc
We never acquired destination currency at our local bank when we lived in the US. And we never use Exchange Kiosks in the airport. Instead, we use our Portuguese or Schwab debit card at a bank-owned ATM. Though most of our investments are in Vanguard, we opened a Schwab account before leaving the US because they refund ATM transaction fees, and their currency exchange rate when transferring funds is very competitive.
To shorten the drying cycle you took the clothes from the washing machine to a centrifuge which spun the clothes (without heat) very fast before placing them in the dryers.
I’ll give more details about both of these cities in a future post.
Honesty, I don’t know anything about lawnmowers. Frankly, all engines are a mystery to me.
Even most gas stations in Denmark are unmanned…instead accepting payment only via card at the pump.
Fascinating! I love Denmark, all those cheerful beer-drinking Vikings living amidst the most picturesque countryside and architecture…I lived in very different Germany, south of the border in Hamburg most of my life. Skagen, a charming artists’ colony where the North Sea meets the Baltic, I remember as a beautiful, horrendous traffic jam. (one road through the middle of), and the point of the beach absolutely COVERED with blue jellyfish on the North Sea side, orange jellyfish on the Baltic side, meeting and mingling at the point of confluence. Ah, memories.
I understood something very different when I read the title of your post😂😂
The only place I know of, that they will only take cash, is on the bus. You can buy a ticket via an app, but if you just ask the driver for a ticket, they will ask for cash. I think it is still like that.
The weird thing is that there are places that do not accept cash at all. That is especially common in businesses that work in some kind of collaboration, like streetfood markets, where all foodtrucks share a lot of expenses, like cleaning of the common areas etc.