Banks in Denmark: a newcomer's guide to banking

How banking in Denmark works when you are new

Danish banking is built around a few public identifiers. Almost everything a bank does with you, from opening an account to letting you log in to online banking, depends on your personal identification number, the CPR number, and on the national digital ID, MitID. Public authorities, in turn, pay money only into the one account you have chosen as your NemKonto. Once you understand that chain, most of what a Danish bank asks of you makes sense.

The usual order looks like this: you register your address and receive a CPR number, you get MitID, you open an account, and you assign that account (or one you already hold abroad) as your NemKonto. Each step has its own page in this English section, and this guide ties them together.

Step one: the CPR number

The personal identification number comes first because banks, MitID and NemKonto all build on it. The official newcomer portal names a Danish bank account among the reasons you need one. Registration is for people planning a longer stay: the threshold is three months for most nationalities and half a year for citizens of the Nordic countries, the EU and the EEA. It happens face to face, either at the municipality's Borgerservice or at an International Citizen Service centre, and only once you have a permanent Danish address.

Paperwork comes before the meeting. If you are an EU or EEA national, obtain the EU residence document first; if you come from outside Europe, the residence and work permit plays that role; Nordic nationals skip this step. What to bring and how the ten digits are built is on our page about getting your CPR number and why your bank asks for it.

Step two: MitID, the login for banks and authorities

MitID is the digital ID you use to log in to online banking and public self-service. Lifeindenmark lists the conditions as a Danish CPR number, an age of at least 15 and the ability to meet the ID requirements. Its separate MitID page adds that in the MitID app you need a valid passport of any nationality, or an ID card with a chip, and that a person without a CPR number uses an 8-digit P code instead. You can also book an appointment at your municipality's Citizen Service. How logging in works is covered in Danish on our page about MitID and online banking.

Step three: a Danish bank account and your right to one

A Danish bank will want to know who you are. The anti-money-laundering act, hvidvaskloven § 11, requires the bank to record your name and CPR number, or your date of birth if you have no CPR number, and to verify your identity. Lifeindenmark's NemKonto page lists what most banks ask for: proof of identity such as a passport, driving licence or health insurance card, an employment contract or invitation letter, and a tax card, which it marks as not obligatory. It also says documentation requirements may vary depending on the bank.

Sources do not agree on the tax card. One lifeindenmark page makes the tax card a condition for any Danish account; another page on the same portal calls it optional. Ask the bank you choose what it needs before you book a meeting.

You also have a legal right to a basic payment account. Under the Danish act on payment accounts, banks must offer one in Danish kroner to consumers with legal residence in an EU country, unless opening it would breach the money-laundering rules. The bank must open the account or refuse within 10 working days of a complete application, and a refusal must come with reasons. Since 1 January 2026 the act also says a bank may not treat consumers differently because of their nationality or place of residence. The full process is on how to open an account as a newcomer, and the Danish rules sit on our page about the Danish basic account rules.

Step four: NemKonto for public payments

A NemKonto is not a special account type. Lifeindenmark describes it as a normal bank account you already own, Danish or foreign, that you assign to receive payments from public authorities such as tax refunds. You need a CPR number to register one, a private person can have only one, and assigning it is free. You can do it yourself with MitID, ask your Danish bank to do it, or use a form for a foreign account. Our English page explains how NemKonto works for newcomers, and the Danish detail is in the full NemKonto guide in Danish.

A worked example: the first weeks

The table below follows a worker from an EU country through the first weeks, using only deadlines that the sources state. Real cases are often faster, and the order can differ if your bank accepts you before the tax card arrives.

Fees, information and protection

Danish law gives you paperwork before and after you sign. A bank must hand you a fee information document at the latest when you agree to open a payment account, and at least once a year it must give you a free statement of all fees charged. If the bank wants to change your account terms to your disadvantage, it must tell you at least 2 months in advance, and you may then end the agreement at once and free of charge. You can close an account without a fee once you have held it for 6 months.

Deposits are covered by the Danish deposit guarantee. Garantiformuen states the cover as up to EUR 100,000 per customer per bank. The table in the next block lists these rules with the source and the date we checked them. For a Danish overview of account types and rights, see our page on bank accounts in Denmark.

Account numbers, IBAN and paying abroad

Inside Denmark a payment goes to a four-digit registration number (reg.nr.) plus an account number. For payments from abroad you give your IBAN, which in Denmark has 18 characters and contains the same two numbers. Our page on Danish account numbers and IBAN splits a real example apart, and the Danish page on how an IBAN is put together goes further.

Cash, cards and the krone

Denmark uses the Danish krone (DKK). Nationalbanken publishes indicative reference rates each banking day, and your bank or card issuer adds its own mark-up when you pay in another currency. Shops that accept cards must, as a rule, also accept cash between 06.00 and 22.00, with exceptions such as online sales and unstaffed self-service. Read more in our guide to kroner, cash and cards, or see the Danish pages on today's exchange rates and cash in Denmark.

Common mistakes newcomers make

• Waiting for the first salary before choosing a NemKonto. nemkonto.dk advises you to designate one before the first public payment where possible.
• Assuming one document list fits every bank. Lifeindenmark says requirements vary by bank, so ask first.
• Treating a refusal as final. A refusal of a basic payment account must be reasoned and must tell you that you can complain to Det finansielle ankenævn and contact Finanstilsynet.
• Giving out your MitID details. Under the payments act you must protect your personal security details and tell the bank quickly if they are lost or misused.
• Paying in kroner abroad. If a terminal offers to convert to DKK, the rate can be up to 35 per cent higher, according to Forbrugerrådet Tænk.

When something goes wrong, and when you want to switch

Complain to your bank first. If it refuses, gives an unsatisfactory answer or does not reply within 5 weeks, you can take the case to Det finansielle ankenævn, the complaints board for banks. The fee is DKK 300 including VAT and is refunded if you win in full or in part. The board accepts documents in Danish or English, but handles the case in Danish. The steps are on our Danish page about complaining about a bank.

If you later want another bank, the new bank does most of the work once you consent. Finans Danmark says payment accounts move within 12 working days once the new bank has your consent and all the information. Our Danish page on how long a bank switch takes compares the different time limits.

Banks in Copenhagen and the rest of the country

The rules on this page apply everywhere in Denmark, so banks in Copenhagen follow the same national law as banks in Aarhus or a smaller town. We do not list branches, addresses or opening hours: check those on the bank's own website. If you need cash late in the evening, an ATM is usually the answer, and our Danish page on using an ATM explains the basics.

Prefer to read in Danish? Every English page links its Danish counterpart, such as the guide to the CPR number and your bank.