There are currently fewer than 1,000 bank branches in Denmark, which is 74 percent less than in the early 1980s, when there were 3,656 branches nationwide, reports Jyllands-Posten.
Many of the remaining branches do not provide manual cash banking services, which means that people often have to travel many kilometres to deposit or withdraw money from their account.
READ MORE: Nordea displaces Danske Bank as the Danish bank with the most dissatisfied customers
Complications for the elderly
For instance, Nordea customers in the south Jutland town of Tønder have to travel almost 80 km to the nearest branch with manual cash service – a trip that costs 142 kroner by public transport and takes nearly 90 minutes.
Nordea contends Danish banks are only following trends in digital banking and argues people can withdraw cash from ATMs or when they shop.
However, Jens Højgaard, the deputy of elderly support group Ældre Sagen, claims that “a quarter of a million people over 65 do not use the internet and thus do not have access to online banking.”
The lack of bank branches with manual cash services represents a problem also for smaller businesses who are legally obligated to accept cash payments, and are thus calling for changes in the law.
