Extra payment cards are now part of Denmark’s resilience playbook: Danmarks Nationalbank (Nationalbanken) on 6 October recommended that every household keep at least two physical payment cards from different brands—for example Dankort and Visa/Mastercard—to stay able to pay when one system fails. The advice follows this summer’s nationwide outage at payment processor Nets that briefly disrupted card transactions.
Why extra payment cards improve resilience
Nationalbanken’s director Ulrik Nødgaard says different card brands “run on different rails.” If one network is down, another may still work. The bank’s survey data indicate that many Danes rely on a single brand or on co‑badged cards (e.g., Visa/Dankort or Mastercard‑Dankort) that count as one card for resilience purposes. Households are therefore encouraged to add a separate Visa or Mastercard card alongside a Dankort to diversify their options.
Co‑badged cards: what counts toward redundancy
A co‑badged card combines two brands on a single piece of plastic (e.g., Visa/Dankort). For preparedness, it still counts as one card. To meet the recommendation, households with only co‑badged cards should obtain an additional Visa or Mastercard card (a debit product is typically the lowest‑cost option), while keeping the PIN memorised for all cards.
Cash buffer: 250 kroner per person
Alongside cards, Nationalbanken advises keeping a modest cash buffer at home—250 kroner per person (about €33) in small notes and coins—so basic purchases remain possible if electronic payments are affected. The amount is a guideline; households may adjust upward based on needs.
Offline payments: what shops should enable
If connectivity fails, offline payments may still work for Dankort (including Visa/Dankort and Mastercard‑Dankort) and for many Mastercard cards, typically with a PIN. Nationalbanken has also issued guidance for merchants to enable offline acceptance and to be ready to take card, cash, and mobile account‑to‑account options so that essential trade can continue during outages.
Consumer impact: costs and card choices
Consumer advocates at Forbrugerrådet Tænk welcome the recommendations and underline that most people can request an extra card from their bank; debit cards are usually cheaper than credit cards. Some banks may charge an annual fee for an additional card, which households should weigh against the benefit of redundancy.
The Danish move aligns with a broader Nordic and EU focus on payment resilience, including work under way in the region to ensure offline card payments when the internet is down and to reduce single‑points‑of‑failure in critical payment infrastructure.
ECB guidance: keep cash on hand
In its Economic Bulletin (Issue 6/2025), the European Central Bank (ECB) underscored the role of cash as a contingency payment tool in crises and referenced national guidance that households keep roughly €70–€100 per person for about 72 hours. The ECB’s push for a digital euro with offline capability also aims to strengthen payment resilience across the euro area.
