Using ATM and credit cards in Scandavian Countries
I read on another travel website that in countries like Denmark our US based credit cards are not accepted by the local businesses or at ATMs for cash..can someone confirm or deny this please? Donna
Donna
Kennewick 11/4/09
Send Private Message
We were in that area in September. Debit card worked fine. And the credit card was generally accepted except for a couple of train ticket machines. Now, we tend to use almost 90% cash so we seldom use our credit card for small or routine purchases. But the introduction of the chip card is going to slowly make the Am credit card harder to use.
I have used my Visa debit card in Denmark and Norway for ATM withdrawals and as a credit card without any problems.
I've used credit and debit cards in Sweden often. Never had a problem. It has been a couple of years since I've been there, though. Maybe something has changed.
Thanks. I actually read this on the cruise critic website posted by someone who says they live in Copenhagen. I have never had problems using my card anywhere I traveled so I thought it sounded odd. So I thought I would check with actual travelers. We'll get some cash at the airport when we arrive but plan on using our cards too! THANKS....happy and safe travels! Donna
We, too, used a Visa debit card in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Estonia, and Lithuania back in June/July. One problem we encountered was trying to buy a ferry ticket (or was it train?) online, failing, and eventually telephoning. The clerk said US credit cards were blocked from their website!?!
We have been to Denmark on two occaisions in the last two years. Both times, we had trouble with our Citibank issued MC, because it wasn't a "chip" card, and we hadn't set-up it up with a PIN. Some merchants could/would work around this by swiping it the "old fashioned way" and having us sign the receipt. However, our Chase issued debit card (Visa) worked flawlessly in the ATMs, so we "settled" during both trips by withdrawling cash from the ATM and paying with cash as necessary. After both trips, when I called Citi, they didn't really have a solution to the problem. I don't know - if we had a PIN for the MC - we might not have had problems. I'll leave that for a future trip!