DENMARK

All exchange rates are to be found at:

Nationalbankens Statbank - data and statistics

• The Danish central bank is Danmarks Nationalbank (www.nationalbanken.dk).

Bank supervision

• Danish banks are licensed and supervised by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (finanstilsynet.dk).

• Banks apply flat-rate fees on payments between residents and non-resident bank accounts.

• DISCLOSED / UNDISCLOSED 

Main rule is disclosed but undisclosed might be considered for companies with a very good rating. 

• RECOURSE / NON-RECOURSE 

Mainly non-recourse solutions for off-balance treatment, but recourse solutions are offered as well. 

• STRUCTURED PRODUCTS 

In-house and Data-Factoring are the main products offered. Reverse Factoring is not possible. 

• EXPORT / IMPORT 

Direct export factoring is available. 

• CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENTS 

General concentration level in recourse programmes is 15% - for well-rated companies higher concentrations are possible. 100% concentration is standard in non-recourse programmes.

• MAX. PREPAYMENT % 

Normal prepayment rate is 90% but can go up to 100%. 

• CREDIT COVER % 

Up to 100% on a case by case base, depending on rating and needs of the client. 

• USUAL FUNDING PERIOD 

In Non-Recourse agreements the client repurchases 90 days after due date if legal actions are not asked. 

• OFF-BALANCE SHEET SOLUTIONS 

Ability to create structures that meet the requirements of independent auditors, to be classified as “Off-balance sheet”. 

• INVOICE TRANSFER 

Only electronic exchange (AQ file layout or d-basics). 

• ONLINE APPLICATIONS 

IT systems to consult the portfolio and financing possibilities via Client Manager. 

• DELAYED DUNNING 

Delayed dunning and ledger financing are possible. 

• DATA FACTORING 

Data factoring is possible but requires a professional set-up on the client side. Minimum 1 audit per year. A full ledger should be delivered frequently including new assigned invoices and registered payments. 

• CURRENCIES OF FINANCE 

Common currencies are DKK, SEK, NOK, EUR, GBP and USD.

• Credit transfers are used by companies to pay salaries and suppliers, and to make tax and treasury payments.
• High-value and urgent domestic credit transfers can be settled in real time via Kronos2. Urgent interbank credit transfers greater than DKK 1 million can be processed via the Kronos 2 ‘Transfers via Danmarks Nationalbank’ facility.
• High-value and urgent EUR-denominated domestic and cross-border transfers can be settled in real time via TARGET2-Danmark, or by the Euro Banking Association’s EURO1 system. 
• The ECB T2 payment system is expected to include the Danish krone by November 2025. The Danmarks Nationalbank has also decided to join TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) in the coming years. It will then replace the Straksclearing.
• High-value, cross-border credit transfers in domestic and other currencies can be processed via SWIFT, correspondent banking and bank branch networks.
• Low-value (equal to or below DKK 5 million) and non-urgent credit transfers are processed via MasterCard Payment Services before being settled via Sumclearing or Intradagclearing .
• Payments up to DKK 500,000 can be processed via Straksclearing in real time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Straksclearing is operated by MasterCard Payment Services.
• SEPA credit transfers can be settled via STEP1 or STEP2 or via correspondent banking networks. 
• The European Payment Council’s SCT Inst scheme (a pan-European 24/7 instant payment scheme for SEPA credit transfers) enables the transfer of funds (the maximum threshold value is EUR 100,000) to another account in less than ten seconds. 
• EBA Clearing has developed and implemented a pan-European platform for instant EUR payments. It is fully compliant with the SCT Insts scheme and is in line with the ISO 20022 global messaging standards for instant payments.
• EBA Clearing has launched a pan-European request to pay (R2P) infrastructure solution with the support of 27 payment service providers from 11 countries. The new service is compatible with the SCT and SCT Inst schemes and allows payees to take the initiative to request a specific payment from the payer.
• TIPS is a pan-European service for the settlement of instant payments in central bank money. The service enables payment service and is aligned with SCT Insts. It is primarily focused on EUR payments but is technically capable of settling payments denominated in other currencies.

• Direct debits are used for regular payments, such as utility bills.
• Direct debits in Denmark:
• Pre-authorised Supplier Service (LeverandørService) direct debits for companies.
• Betalingsservice direct debits for low-value recurring payments such as utility bills.
• Betalingsservic web, an online direct debit service for small companies and organisations.
• Low-value and non-urgent direct debits are settled through Sumclearing.
• SEPA direct debits are available in Denmark and can be settled on a same-day basis via STEP2. 

• The cheque is not a common cashless payment instrument.

• Card payments are increasingly popular, especially for retail transactions. In 2020, card payment turnover was 0.9% lower than in 2019, the first time since 1983 when payment cards were introduced that card transactions have fallen.
• There were 7.8 million debit cards and 1.6 million credit cards in circulation at the end of Q1 2021.
• Dankort is Denmark's national payment card operator. There are three million co-branded Dankort debit cards in circulation.
• Visa and MasterCard-branded credit cards are the most widely issued.
• Contactless debit and credit cards are available. In Q1 2020, there were 23 million contactless payments (27 million in Q1 2020).
• All card payments are processed by Nets (in March 2021, MasterCard assumed responsibility for the operation of Nets’ retail payment systems – Sumclearing, Intradagclearing and Straksclearing), with the exception of Visa and MasterCard payments, which are processed by their respective international card schemes.
• Dankort mobile payments are available and are accepted by all merchants currently accepting Dankort cards.
• All cards issued are EMV-compliant.

• There were an estimated 2,022 ATMs in Denmark at the end of Q1 2021.
• There were 149,600 EFTPOS terminals in Denmark at the end of Q1 2021.
• All payments are settled via Nets.
• All ATMs and POS terminals are EMV-compliant.

• Pre-paid cards are available.
• The BOKIS banking consortium, comprising 57 small to mid-sized banks and five regional banks, offers mobile payments using Dankort, the national payment card.
• MobilePay is the country’s most widely used mobile wallet, with six million users. In 2020, 395 million transactions were made via MobilePay, with a value of EUR 18 billion. Other mobile payment schemes include Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.

• BNP Paribas provides a comprehensive range of trade finance and supply chain management solutions to the key exporting companies in the Nordics, enabling them to mitigate their payment risk, secure commercial contracts and enhance their working capital needs. Through the bank's trade centre for the Nordics, BNP Paribas provides a single entry point for its customers to manage all their trade finance needs including advice on local guarantee wording.

• The EU has trade agreements in place with over 30 countries.
• The EU is currently in free trade negotiations with a number of countries, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Australia, Mercosur (the Southern Common Market), Uruguay, Myanmar and the USA. The EU and the UK are discussing their future trading relationship, following the UK’s departure from the EU.

Source: IMF, International Financial Statistics, July 2021.