Banking

In order to get paid, which is very important here in Denmark, you need a Danish bank account. Here are some of the available options we tried and some general things to keep in mind.

Nemkonto

Nemkonto is the bank account your salary gets paid to, and the one the government has in your records linked to your CPR number and thus also your Nem-ID. When you set up a bank account they ask if you want this to be your NemKonto.

Important: Nem-ID!

There are two ways to get your Nem-ID once you’ve got your CPR number:

Either of these options are fine as long as you don’t start both processes at the same time.

Seriously, don’t start both processes at the same time.

What you end up doing is up to you. The Borger Service process is usually faster and once you’ve got your Nem-ID activated online you can go to the bank with your signed documents. The bank option takes care of both banking and Nem-ID at the same time but usually takes a bit longer. Once you bring them your signed documents, the will take care of getting you your Nem-ID and will send you the keycard. This is fine if you apply for a bank account as soon as you’ve got your CPR number.

Opening a bank account.

Open a bank account as soon as possible. It takes 7-10 days from application until they contact you. They might have additional questions for you, this adds another few days. They will then ask you to sign a contract and return it to your local branch. Within a few days they should send another letter with your bank account number. It will take another 7-10 after that to get a debit card and up to 10 more days for a PIN.

You will require a bank account (Nemkonto in danish) to receive your salary, and while this can be paid to a foreign account upon request, the currency conversion makes this expensive in most cases.

Banks

University Recommended Deal - Danske Bank

The university will recommend Danske Bank and have a deal with them for signing up, where if you are younger than a certain age you do not have to pay a sign up fee. This age limit can vary year to year. Sign up is online and their website has English language capabilities. Danske Bank will ask for your passport, work contract, and housing contract. They will also ask about details of foreign accounts and in which countries you have to pay tax. They do not, however, require yellow card for setting up the bank account. This is unusual as most other banks ask for this when opening a bank account.

NB: when setting up the account and filling in the initial form, Danske Bank will not send a confirmation mail. If it takes more than 10 days to get a phone call, email or letter, saying that your info has been processed, contact them.

Pros: easy to set up online English website International bank Don’t need yellow card for initial setup

Cons: *High fees compared to other banks *Takes a while before they respond *Ask a lot of questions about your personal finances before opening the account.

For registration:

  • Proof of identity (e.g. passport)
  • Rental contract
  • Signed letter of employment
  • CPR-number document
  • Selfie with the queen (optional)

You don’t actually need a selfie with the queen.

Issues we came accross

  • Submitting the bank contract before Nem-ID was activated online caused Danske Bank to cancel the running Nem-ID process and made them start a new one. This delayed everything for two weeks
  • Sometimes they “forget” to process registrations; if you don’t get any reply for a week, contact them!

Other banks

There are many banks in Denmark, Nordea would be an example of another international bank and they have lower fees than Danske Bank. If you join an employment union you can get special banking offers. Also some banks offer interest on deposits in a salary account (Nemkonto), so it may be worth shopping around for what suits you best. This list has some info on the banks available:

internationalcommunity.dk

NetBank

To get a NetBank you can usually apply online for most banks. To access NetBank you need a NemID (a set of access codes that enable you to access NetBank and several other services). If you choose to get NemID through the bank then you need to have a yellow card first, and they will ask to see this or for you to upload a picture of it. The other method of getting a NemID is through Borgerservice. You will need NemID to access NetBank. After applying for NetBank online it activates fast (Danske Bank 24 hours) but it can take up to 10 days for NemID to arrive, then another few days for a NemID activation code. So it’s often faster to get NemID through Borgerservice as this is usually a same day service. Just make sure not to get two NemIDs as then you will have to consolidate these later.

Online banks

Revolut is a good option to convert money (in case you come from a country with a different currency, p.e. Euro). It is a good idea to create an account and order a card before coming to Denmark (it takes around a week to arrive) to avoid unecessary fees.

Money transfers from abroad

Before setting a bank account in Denmark it can be usefull to have some cash with you. You can bring it in your local currency (that you can convert to DKK in exchange offices; avoid = high currency rates) or in DKK (convert it in your country; better option). NB: 500€ notes are not accepted in Denmark!!

If you plan to transfer money from your local bank to your danish bank account (or vice-versa) be sure you check the FEES first.