Europe

Payment methods in the Nordics

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Updated

October 28, 2026

Ludovic Plisson

Chief Brand Officer

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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.

Each country still has its own habits. Denmark keeps its domestic Dankort and Norway its BankAxept debit scheme, while Sweden and Finland run on Visa and Mastercard. Mobile apps built by local banks dominate person-to-person and small payments: Swish in Sweden, Vipps in Norway and MobilePay in Denmark and Finland. Online, shoppers expect pay-by-bank through Trustly or Finnish bank buttons, and invoice or pay-later options from Klarna, Walley, Resurs and Svea. Iceland, the smallest market, relies almost entirely on international cards.

3% of payments in Norway were made in cash in March 2026 (Norges Bank)
91% of people in Sweden had used Swish in the last month in 2025 (Sveriges Riksbank)
9% of payments in Danish physical stores were made in cash in 2025 (Danmarks Nationalbank)
63% of people in Finland use MobilePay in 2026 (Finance Finland)

Payment by card in the Nordics

Cards are still the backbone of Nordic payments, and two countries keep a domestic debit scheme. In Norway, BankAxept cards accounted for 46% of transactions using Norwegian cards in 2025 and 70% of payments at terminals, while international cards rose to 54% of the market, from 34% in 2020. In Denmark, Dankort is usually co-badged as Visa/Dankort and still made up just under 40% of all payments in Denmark in 2024, according to Danmarks Nationalbank, while wallet payments reached about 38% of in-store card payments at the end of that year.

Finland and Sweden have no domestic scheme. Finnish cardholders made 1.2 billion card payments worth 36.9 billion euros in the first half of 2025, and 84% of the value of private payments was made with debit cards. In Iceland, more than 90% of retail payments go through Visa and Mastercard, according to the central bank as reported by Bloomberg in January 2025, which is why the bank is building a domestic solution.

For merchants, the card mix changes routing and cost. Learn how interchange fees work and how card networks connect issuers and acquirers.

Card schemes in the Nordics

Dankort and Visa/Dankort

Domestic debit scheme

Denmark's national debit card, operated by Nets, part of the Nexi Group. Most cards are co-badged Visa/Dankort, and some banks such as Spar Nord have stopped issuing Dankort to new customers.

Just under 40% share of all payments in Denmark in 2024, Danmarks Nationalbank

BankAxept

Domestic debit scheme

Norway's national debit scheme, carried on cards from Norwegian banks and usually co-badged with Visa or Mastercard for online and foreign use.

46% share of transactions with Norwegian cards in 2025, Norges Bank

Visa

International card scheme

The main international brand on Nordic debit and credit cards, including the Visa side of co-badged Visa/Dankort cards in Denmark.

54% market share of international cards in Norway in 2025, Norges Bank

Mastercard

International card scheme

The other international scheme on Nordic bank cards, widely used for debit in Finland and Sweden and for credit across the region.

Debit cards

Bank debit card

Debit is the default card in all five countries, used contactless in stores and online with 3-D Secure confirmed in the bank app.

84% share of the value of private card payments made with debit cards in Finland in H1 2025, Suomen Pankki

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.

Central banks now promote cash as a backup rather than an everyday tool. After Nets outages in July 2025 and May 2026, Danmarks Nationalbank found that 41% of citizens hold more than 1,000 kroner in cash, against 33% in 2023, and it suggests 250 kroner per household member as a guideline. Finland stays more attached to notes: 76% of Finns usually carry cash and 88% keep some at home for emergencies.

For merchants, this means card and mobile acceptance first, with cash and offline card payments as a payment fallback when networks fail.

Cash payment methods in the Nordics

Cash at the point of sale

Banknotes and coins

Danish and Norwegian kroner, Swedish kronor, euros in Finland and Icelandic krónur are still accepted in most shops, but used mostly by older shoppers and as a contingency during outages.

3% share of point-of-sale payments made in cash in Norway, March 2026, Norges Bank

Cash kept as a contingency

Backup payment

Nordic authorities ask households to keep some cash at home in case digital payments fail. In Denmark, 7 out of 10 people who hold cash regard it as a contingency.

41% share of Danes holding more than 1,000 kroner in cash in 2026, Danmarks Nationalbank

Payment by bank transfer in the Nordics

The Nordic banks built instant payments early, and most account-to-account flows now settle in seconds. Norway recorded 210 million instant payments in 2025, the largest share of them started from Vipps. In Denmark, though, less than 5% of payments in physical stores are instant payments. The plan for a shared Nordic clearing house stalled when P27 Nordic Payments withdrew its clearing license application in April 2023, so each country keeps its own rails.

Online, pay-by-bank is strongest in Sweden and Finland. Trustly, founded in Stockholm, processed SEK 1,059 billion of payments in 2025 and connects to 12,000 banks. Finnish shoppers still click their own bank at checkout, a format offered by gateways such as Paytrail, and banks also run the Siirto instant transfer service, used by 14% of Finns. Recurring bills in Denmark run through Betalingsservice, the direct debit service operated by Nets.

For merchants, these methods mean low fees and no chargebacks. Read more on account-to-account payments and request to pay.

Bank transfer methods in the Nordics

Trustly

Pay by bank

Swedish open banking payment provider that lets shoppers pay directly from their bank account, widely used in Nordic e-commerce, gaming and travel.

SEK 1,059 billion payment volume processed in 2025, Trustly

Finnish online bank payments

Bank buttons

Redirect payments where the shopper picks OP, Nordea, Danske Bank, S-Pankki, Aktia or another Finnish bank at checkout and approves the payment in the bank app. Merchants reach them through local gateways rather than bank by bank.

Siirto

Mobile bank payment

Finnish phone-number payment service built into the OP and Nordea apps. Renewed in June 2026, it now covers payments to friends, bills sent to the bank and, bank by bank, online checkout in more than 30,000 Finnish stores.

About 1 million registered users in 2026, Siirto

Domestic instant credit transfers

Instant payment rail

Each country runs its own instant scheme in its own currency, and Finland uses SEPA Instant in euros. Wallets such as Swish, Vipps and MobilePay settle on top of these rails.

210 million instant payments made in Norway in 2025, Norges Bank

Betalingsservice

Direct debit

Danish direct debit service operated by Nets, used for rent, utilities, subscriptions and other recurring bills.

Payment by installment and BNPL in the Nordics

Paying after delivery is a Nordic invention. Swedish shoppers have long received goods first and paid by invoice later, and that habit created Klarna, now a global company with 118 million active consumers and 966,000 merchants at the end of 2025. Its home markets remain Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, where pay in 30 days, pay in three and longer financing all sit at checkout.

Klarna competes with Nordic banks and finance companies. Walley, Resurs Bank and Svea offer invoice, part payment and checkout solutions to retailers, and Swedbank's PayEx handles invoicing and sales financing for more than 1 million consumers and over 50 million invoices a year. In stores, these lenders often finance larger purchases in electronics, furniture and home improvement.

For merchants, the lender usually takes the credit risk and pays the store upfront, while the shopper sees a familiar local brand. See how buy now, pay later works.

Installment and BNPL providers in the Nordics

Klarna

BNPL

Stockholm-based provider of pay later, pay in three and financing, available online and in store in all four mainland Nordic countries.

118 million active consumers worldwide in Q4 2025, Klarna

Walley

Invoice and part payment

Payment brand of Norion Bank (formerly Collector Bank), offering checkout, invoice and part payment to large online and in-store retailers, such as XXL in all four mainland Nordic countries.

Resurs Bank

Retail finance

Swedish niche bank providing payment and financing solutions to retail chains and e-commerce stores, with invoice, part payment and store credit cards in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland.

SEK 40.5 billion lending to the public at the end of June 2026, Resurs Holding

Svea

Invoice and checkout

Swedish financial group offering Svea Checkout with invoice and part payment in Sweden, Norway and Finland, plus payment services in Finland through Svea Payments.

PayEx

Invoicing and sales finance

Swedbank subsidiary founded in 1972 that handles invoicing, factoring and sales financing for businesses in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland.

50 million+ invoices processed per year, Swedbank

Payment by digital wallet and X-Pay in the Nordics

Bank-owned mobile apps are part of daily life in the region. In Sweden, 91% of people had used Swish in the last month in the Riksbank's 2025 survey. Vipps and MobilePay merged into Vipps MobilePay, owned by Danske Bank and the Norwegian banks behind Vipps, after all authorities approved the deal in October 2022. Both brands remain for now, but the company announced in October 2026 that MobilePay will be renamed Vipps in Denmark and Finland in January 2027. In Finland, 63% of people use MobilePay. In Norway, 37% of payments at physical points of sale were made by mobile phone in March 2026, and Vipps launched its own in-store NFC payment in December 2024.

Card-based wallets are growing fast too. In Denmark, wallets on mobile phones now account for one in three payments in physical stores, mostly through Apple Pay and Google Pay. Finnish mobile-app-initiated payments reached 334 million transactions worth 8.1 billion euros in the first half of 2025.

For merchants, Swish, Vipps and MobilePay are must-haves at checkout in their home countries. Learn more about X-Pay and the Apple Pay integration challenges.

Digital wallets and X-Pay in the Nordics

Swish

Bank mobile payment

Sweden's mobile payment app, owned by the main Swedish banks and linked to the user's bank account. It is used between people, in e-commerce and in stores.

91% share of people in Sweden who used Swish in the last month in 2025, Sveriges Riksbank

MobilePay

Mobile wallet

Vipps MobilePay's brand in Denmark and Finland, due to be renamed Vipps in January 2027, used to pay friends, online shops and subscriptions, and in Denmark to pay contactless in stores with Tap med MobilePay.

63% share of people in Finland using MobilePay in 2026, Finance Finland

Vipps

Mobile wallet

Vipps MobilePay's brand in Norway, used for person-to-person payments, online checkout and, since December 2024, contactless payments in store through Vipps NFC.

86% share of person-to-person payments made by mobile phone in Norway in 2026, Norges Bank

Apple Pay

Device wallet

Supported by all major Nordic banks, Apple Pay carries Visa and Mastercard cards for contactless payments in store and one-tap checkout online.

1 in 3 in-store payments in Denmark made with a mobile wallet in 2026, Danmarks Nationalbank

Google Pay

Device wallet

The Android counterpart, available with cards from Nordic banks for contactless and online payments.

Payments in the Nordics: FAQ

What is the most popular payment method in the Nordics?

Debit cards remain the most used method across the region, often through a phone. In Norway, 37% of point-of-sale payments were made by mobile in March 2026. Local bank apps such as Swish, Vipps and MobilePay lead person-to-person and many online payments.

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.

Are Vipps and MobilePay the same company?

Yes. Vipps and MobilePay merged into Vipps MobilePay, headquartered in Oslo, after competition authorities approved the deal in October 2022. The brands are separate for now, Vipps in Norway and MobilePay in Denmark and Finland, but MobilePay will be renamed Vipps in January 2027. Sweden has its own app, Swish.

What happened to the P27 Nordic payment platform?

P27 aimed to create one clearing house for Nordic payments in several currencies. It withdrew its clearing license application in April 2023, after Swish and the Danish banks chose other paths. Each country now modernizes its own payment infrastructure.

Accept local payments in the Nordics with NORBr

Nordic merchants pair an acquirer such as Nets, part of the Nexi Group, with a checkout provider, while Klarna and Trustly cover pay later and pay by bank. Check Dankort and BankAxept acquiring and Swish, Vipps and MobilePay agreements.

With NORBr, you can connect any acquirer, PSP or local provider that offers Dankort and BankAxept debit cards, Swish, Vipps MobilePay, Trustly pay-by-bank and Klarna. Some are already in our connector catalog; Mapper™ gets the others live in days, and Smart Checkout shows each shopper the right methods. Explore the other #PayWorldTour guides.

Local payment providers in the Nordics

Nets

Acquirer

Copenhagen-born payment company, part of the Nexi Group, that stands behind Dankort and Betalingsservice and offers acquiring, terminals and online checkout to merchants across the Nordics.

Covers: Cards, Dankort, BankAxept, MobilePay, Vipps, Swish, Apple Pay, Google Pay

Swedbank Pay

PSP

Swedbank's payment company, serving online and in-store merchants in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland with acquiring, checkout and invoice payments.

Covers: Cards, Swish, Vipps, MobilePay, Trustly, Invoice, Apple Pay, Google Pay

Klarna

BNPL provider

Stockholm-based provider that combines pay later with a full checkout and card acceptance for merchants in the Nordics and beyond.

966,000 merchants worldwide in Q4 2025, Klarna

Covers: Pay later, Invoice, Part payment, Cards, Swish, Pay by bank

Trustly

Pay-by-bank provider

Stockholm-founded open banking provider used by Nordic e-commerce, gaming and travel merchants for bank payments and instant payouts.

9,000+ merchants and 12,000 connected banks in 2025, Trustly

Covers: Pay by bank, Instant payouts, Recurring bank payments

Svea Bank

Payment gateway

Swedish financial group offering Svea Checkout in Sweden, Norway and Finland, and Svea Payments, a Finnish gateway for online bank payments and wallets.

Covers: Cards, Invoice, Part payment, Finnish online bank payments, MobilePay, Swish