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Denmark heading towards cash-free future
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July 15th, 2014
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This article is more than 10 years old.
The way Danes still call their money 'kroner' (literally meaning 'crowns') is a reminder of their feudal past, but just like the late great kings, all the coins may soon be history.
EPN reports that bank cards have become the standard form of payment to such a degree that cash may completely disappear in the near future.
Money is digital
In the last 30 years, the number of Dankort transactions in Danish stores has been on a steady rise, according to figures released from the national bank.
In 2012, people paid with their Dankorts nearly a billion times, compared to 400 million times in 2000, while cheques and cash payments are getting rarer. In addition, mobile payments are getting more and more popular.
Cash-free zone
Johan Juul-Jensen, an economist at Nykredit, is confident that Denmark will become a cash-free zone one day.
"I don't think it's right around the corner," he told EPN.
Cash is still something that most people like to have. There is something familiar and traditional about carrying cash."
"It's the direction we are heading – but not in the short run."
His prediction was that people will give up on kroner this century.
In the government's latest growth deal for this year, a three-year test trial of cash-free stores was discussed to prevent robberies, but the proposal was never passed.
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