As reported by TV2, the Danish government has struck a deal with several parties in Parliament to revive the Dankort, which was once Denmark’s most widely used payment method.

The agreement includes support from the Social Democrats, the Socialist People’s Party (SF), and the Danish People’s Party.

The move comes as the use of the Dankort has declined significantly over the past decade. According to the Ministry of Business and Industry, the Dankort accounted for nearly 80 percent of card transactions nine years ago. Today, that figure is closer to 40 percent.

“The Dankort has been greatly affected by changes in technology. This rescue plan is meant to address that shift,” says Ole Krohn, business analyst at TV 2.

Shift towards mobile payments

A key reason for the decline is the rise of mobile payment solutions. Many Danish consumers now use services like Apple Pay and Google Pay, which typically support only the Visa or Mastercard components of cards such as Visa/Dankort.

Until recently, few banks offered the option to use Dankort through mobile wallets. That began to change at the start of this year, when Nets, the company behind Dankort, required all banks to make Dankort available for mobile payment platforms such as Apple Pay.

“The most important step is ensuring Dankort can be used on Apple Pay,” Krohn says, adding:

“It still requires that consumers actively register it. Whether they do so remains to be seen.”

Higher fees to fund improvements

A core part of the new agreement involves raising the so-called income ceiling, allowing Nets to charge higher fees to retailers for Dankort transactions. The additional revenue will go toward technology upgrades to make the Dankort more appealing and functional.

Plans include adding a balance check feature to prevent users from overdrawing their accounts. Another aim is to expand Dankort use among businesses and associations, which often face high fees when using international cards.

“This agreement is about future-proofing the Dankort and ensuring that Danish consumers and merchants have a cost-effective, domestic option,” a government spokesperson tells TV 2.

Opening up the market

The agreement also follows a recent change to legislation that ends Nets’ monopoly on processing Dankort payments.

A bill passed by the Danish Parliament earlier this month mandates that other payment service providers be granted access to handle Dankort transactions on what are described as “objective, non-discriminatory, and proportional terms.”

Although Nets remains the primary operator, the legal change opens the door for competitors to enter the market and potentially offer alternative redemption services.