Denmark: debit card transactions

The number of payments made with cards with a debit function in Denmark increased steadily every year during the period from 2009 to 2019 and experienced a slight decline in 2020. Over 2.14 billion debit card payments were made in 2020, compared to 919 million in 2009. Similarly, the number of payment cards also generally increased during this period. Most of the payment cards in Denmark are debit cards, and in 2019, 7.9 million cards were with a debit function, and over 1.7 million were credit cards.

Change in payment trends

   The payments landscape in Denmark has been changing in several ways. Alongside the increment in debit card payments, the share of contactless payments grew dramatically during the last years. As of third quarter 2016, contactless payments composed ten percent of all payments in physical stores, while three years later, 72 percent of all payments were contactless. The increase in card payments led to a decrease in cash payments. As of 2018, only around 13 percent of all payment transactions were made with cash.

Mobile payment apps

   A payment method that is becoming more and more popular is mobile payment apps. The most common payment app in Denmark is MobilePay, which was launched by Danske Bank in 2013. As of January 2020, the app had more than 97 thousand active daily users in Denmark.

Total number of debit card transactions processed for payments in Denmark from 2000 to 2021

Characteristic	Debit card transactions (in millions)	Debit card payments per capita
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Release date

July 2024

More information

Region

Denmark

Survey time period

2000 to 2021

Age group

15 years and older

Special properties

Cards issued by resident PSPs

Supplementary notes

The figures have been taken from several publications, as (the quality of) data tracking of card payments can vary significantly between countries.

All figures stem from either the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) or the European Central Bank (ECB). Both use figures submitted by the country's central bank.

2022 figures and beyond - release date November 2023 and later - made significant strides in reporting quality - causing a sometimes significant break in methodology in individual countries. Statista sometimes still had to calculate figures, however, as card figures were split between non-remote and remote use cases.

2021 figures and before - with a release date of July 2022, or earlier - are all Statista estimates. Statista used the following indicators - which did not return after the figures covering 2022:

1. Credit cards