Why would no one like to exchange Norway, Sweden , and Denmark currency?

Have those who would like to exchange money to travel to Scandinavia countries like Norway, Sweden and Denmark ever wondered why nowadays many currency exchange institutions do not buy these currencies? Today, ACU PAY will take everyone to find out.

The reason why banks do not accept the exchange these currencies

This is due to the Danmarks Nationalbank announced a policy to refrain from purchasing Danish Cron cash from banks and financial institutions in Thailand to prevent the Money Laundering Act after detecting that Danish Cron (DKK) cash that The Danmarks Nationalbank repurchased from Thailand is more than the number of Danish tourists visiting Thailand.

As a result, it is harder for tourists visiting Thailand to exchange the Danish Krone for foreign currency at Suvarnabhumi Airport or in Bangkok.

Apart from the Danish measures, there are also neighboring countries such as Norway and Sweden, where the Norges Bank and The Rigsbank also implemented measures not to purchase Norwegian krone (NOK) and Swedish Krona (SEK).

Why do the Nordic enter a cashless society?

The concept of “Cashless Society” is becoming more widespread, but Nordic countries are the first group to actually implement this idea.

In 2018, researchers from the Royal Institute of Technology and Copenhagen Business School in Stockholm tried to set a date by calculating that on March 24,2023, Swedish merchants will no longer be able to receive cash. It is also estimated that more than half of the merchants will no longer accept cash by 2025.

These forecasts reflect strong trends in both Sweden and Nordic countries. In Denmark, lower demand for cash led the National Bank to decide to stop printing its own money in 2015, opting to hire this job for a French supplier instead.

In addition, the Danmarks Nationalbank stated that during 2016-2022, cash flow in the country decreased by as much as 75%. People turned to cards and applications instead, to the point that a bank in Denmark had zero bank robberies, the first time in 2022 since data began to be collected in 1970.

On the Norwegian side, the issue of creating a cashless society by 2030 has also been raised as a political target by the Conservative Party. In addition, there is also Finland, where the use of banknotes in Finland is expected to end by 2029 at the latest.

How do we spend money in these countries ?

With the openness to new technologies, we can travel by paying with credit card, debit card whether Visa/Mastercard/ Maestro/ JCB/ UnionPay, etc., including a Travel Card. In addition, it is also possible to spend via digital channels such as mobile payments, electronic wallets, and contactless payments.

What is clearly seen from Nordic people is that they have trust in financial institutions and banks based on Visa spending statistics, showing that Nordic countries are ‘global leaders’ in card payments. They are also open to a new form of payment which is via mobile app payments, including Swish, Vipps and Mobile Pay, with more than 13 million users across Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland.

References from

riksbank / scandasia / spacebar / ditp.go.th