nanabee

We are currently in Norway and will visit Sweden and don't have any currency and don't have plans to use any. Everything is paid by credit card. I think we will probably get a better exchange rate.

thursdaysd

People with small baskets who don't want to be stuck behind people with large baskets might use a manned express lane if there was one (I do). Otherwise DIY will appear to be quicker. I haven't noticed one sex being better or worse than the other when it comes to holding up lines.

nanabee - interesting comment. I'm headed to Scandinavia this summer, maybe I shouldn't hit the ATM on arrival as I usually do?

Vicky

I was just in Stockholm. The ABBA museum did not take cash (not a problem for me). I got $180 (in kroner) at the ATM on arrival and had about 200+ kroner left when I got to the airport (I thought I was going to hvae to pay for my buffet breakfst the first morning which was not included but even though I asked at check out they did not charge me. I used a CC for the taxi.

Christina

Everyone must be more efficient in Europe than the US, as I always prefer a manned checkout to an automated one for the simple reason that 90 pct of the people using the automated ones don't know what they are doing and take about 4x as long as the regular employee to check out. It is very rare that you get people who do it quickly at my supermarkets. So 90 pct of the people using them at the supermarket don't know how and take FOREVER, they scan each item very slowly and can't figure out where the bar code is, while someone fiddling in their purse for money is less common.

So if I see a line of 2-3 people at a manned checkout and a line of 3-4 people at the automated, I'll go to the manned one.

Guenmai

Interesting, as I remember in the 70s, going into a major department store in Copenhagen and handing the salesgirl my credit card upon which she asked, "What's that?" I used to live there annually in the summers for decades.

I'm glad that cash law hasn't come into effect yet as I'm on my way to Copenhagen and I prefer using cash as it always works. The last time I was there, in 2009, my Danish-issued ATM card was eaten by the ATM machine. It's good that I had enough cash on me to get me by.

Happy Travels!

RM67

I'm not a fan of self-service checkout tills Welltraveledbrit. But I don't think people are actively choosing to use them - our local Sainsburys deliberately stopped manning most of the normal tills at exactly the same time as introducing the self-service checkouts, essentially forcing people to use self-service ones whether they wanted to or not. There's now typically only two manned tills open (out of a possible 15 or so) most evenings. All the staff that were originally on the manned tills now hover around the self-service tills, sorting out problems, authorising alcohol etc etc. I now shop in Waitrose because of this - they have less self-service tills and shorter waits on the manned tills than the other supermarkets in our area.

It's the same as the 'people must love McDonalds/Starbucks' argument 'because they are always full'. Well of course they bloody are if you raise all the rents to force out independant cafes and the council only grant licences to big corporations so that's all there is on your high street. It doesn't prove anything.

hetismij2

It was a shock to have to use cash so much in Germany. Truly annoying to get lumbered with 1 and 2 cent coins, which aren't used in the Netherlands as a result of having to pay cash for stuff.
Some supermarkets accepted my Dutch bank card, but many would only accept cash or a credit card.

I use self checkouts at my local supermarket - I collect a scanner when I go in, scan and pack the stuff as I buy and then pay and leave. Quick and easy. They still have manned tills, with queues. Most are cashless now - only a couple accept cash.
Actually I mostly order my groceries online and either have them delivered or collect them, again paying with my bankcard. Only occasionally do I visit the local store.
Market stall holders have machines so you can pay with a card, and even the charity collectors are starting to carry machines so you can donate by card, since so few people have cash.
Our banks don't carry cash, and haven't done for many many years.

I usually keep €50 in cash, in case there is a failure of the online banking system, but it normally sits there from one year to the next.

nanabee

We have been in Scandinavia for a little over two weeks and haven't used any cash (except a few Kroner from the ATM to leave hotel staff a tip).

It is so easy and convenient to buy and pay for everything with a CC that I don't see why anyone needs to exchange money or have cash.

Odin

I go to Scandinavia 4/5 times a year and always have some cash for small purchases eg coins for parking, cash for paying at food trucks or buying smoked fish at the harbour (they don't take foreign credit cards at some places) or buying fruit/veg at the markets. Otherwise credit card is fine except you do get an extra charge if you have a non Danish credit card at some establishments.

greg

Last year, when I visited Denmark, It was practically card only already. I was probably the only one using cash when buying coffee or ice cream. The natives used cards for everything.

Why need to get cash? Perhaps about a half of the cc card readers did not have mag stripe capability. So if one does not yet have a Chipped card, cash is still needed at these places. My credit union still does not offer Chipped cards.

I also noticed pesky non Danish CC surcharge.

Dukey1

I do not quite understand why people say that when someone knows what you buy they are automatically going to be ABLE to make you BUY something else.

I'm on Amazon and if anybody knows what I have bought it is THEM. Do I get periodic emails from them about what I "might be interested in?" Yes, because I have allowed that to happen.

Does Google and THIS SITE trigger pop-up ads based on where I have surfed? Yes and sometimes I have been happy to know about what is offered and at other times not so much.

Did these make me BUY anything? Not necessarily. Do BILLBOARDS make people buy things?

thursdaysd

"Otherwise credit card is fine except you do get an extra charge if you have a non Danish credit card at some establishments."

Very interesting! Are there signs about that, or would I need to ask?

Odin

Normally it is shown at the bottom of restaurant menus. Have not seen this charge applied to hotels, car rentals or purchases at different types of stores. I can't remember if it applies in supermarkets. One of the restaurants I recently went to had a charge of 3.75% for using a foreign credit card. This can be a time when cash is handy in order to avoid the charge. If there is no sign, I would ask.