Is cash still accepted in the Nordics?
Yes, but it is rarely used. Cash made up 3% of payments in Norway in 2026 and 9% of in-store payments in Denmark in 2025. Central banks now encourage people to keep some cash at home as a backup during outages.
In detail
Yes, but it is rarely used. Cash made up 3% of payments in Norway in 2026 and 9% of in-store payments in Denmark in 2025. Central banks now encourage people to keep some cash at home as a backup during outages.
How people pay in the Nordics in 2026
The Nordics are the closest thing Europe has to a cashless region. In Norway, cash accounted for 3% of total payments in a March 2026 survey. In Sweden, only 5% of people paid cash for their last purchase in the Riksbank's 2025 survey. In Denmark, cash covered 9% of payments in physical stores in 2025, down from 23% in 2017.
Payment by cash in the Nordics
Cash is now a minority payment method across the region. In Norway, cash made up 3% of total payments and 3% of point-of-sale payments in the March 2026 survey by Norges Bank. In Sweden, 5% of people paid cash for their last purchase in the Riksbank's 2025 survey. In Denmark, cash fell to 9% of payments in physical stores in 2025, from 11% in 2023.
More detail in our #PayWorldTour guide Payment methods in the Nordics.