Consumer
Use Dankort when you shop
A lot has happened to the payment market since 1983, when Dankort saw the light of day. Today, we cannot imagine having to withdraw money from an ATM every time we need to go shopping or having to stand in line at the bank every 1st to pay our bills.
With the introduction of the payment card, the Danes' payment habits have changed radically and today few of us can imagine not having a Dankort either in our wallet or on our mobile phone.
Dankort, Visa or Mastercard?
You probably don't think that it makes any difference which card you pay with when you're out shopping. But it actually makes a big difference both for you as a consumer and for the business you shop at. It is often cheaper for the stores when you pay with Dankort rather than other cards, as the price for receiving a Dankort payment is regulated by law. This means that the law keeps the fees low for accepting payments with Dankort for physical stores.
So even if you as a consumer don't immediately notice that there's a difference between which card you use, the higher costs for businesses when paying with cards other than Dankort will typically result in higher prices over time, as the business has to cover the costs.
If you pay with a Visa/Dankort or Mastercard Dankort, you can see on your receipt which side of the card you paid with.
But isn't Visa/Dankort a Dankort?
Most Dankort in Denmark are combined with Visa as Visa/Dankort or with Mastercard as Mastercard Dankort. As a consumer, you do not experience that there's a difference whether it is the Dankort part of the card that you pay with or not. However, there is a difference.
Paying with Dankort there isn't a spending limit on how much money you can spend on your card each month. Therefore, you do not risk your payment being rejected and your card blocked, even if you have money on your account.