Currency, credit cards and money in Sweden

What currency is used in Sweden?

• The monetary unit in Sweden is the krona SEK (plural “kronor”) and equals 100 öre.
• Banknotes are printed in values of 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 kronor.
• The coin is available as 1, 2, 5 and 10 kronor.

Is there a limit on the amount of Swedish and foreign currency you can take with you into Sweden? No. But Sweden has yet to ratify the Euro treaty, which means that you can not pay using euro (€) or other currencies than SEK in cash.

Please note: Older versions of the 20, 50 and 1,000-kronor banknotes are not valid. Also, the majority of older coins became invalid in 2017. Learn more about valid banknotes in Sweden and about valid coins.

Credit cards and cash

Sweden is widely regarded as the most cashless society on the planet. Most of the country’s bank branches have stopped handling cash; many shops, museums and restaurants now only accept plastic or mobile payments. Most terminals in stores are supporting the use of paying with contactless cards.

But no need to worry. Major credit cards (some restrictions may apply to American Express) are widely accepted throughout Sweden at banks, hotels, stores, restaurants, taxis, car rental companies, and for air, ship and rail tickets.

For those wondering how much it will cost to use your card abroad, it all depends on the agreement you have with your card supplier. Most credit cards will charge you for using a cash machine abroad, but since it varies between companies, contact your card provider to know the rate for sure.

Please note: In order to pay or withdraw cash with your credit card it requires that you have a card with chip and PIN (Personal Identification Number). The older magnetic-stripe cards won’t work.

How and where can you get cash in Sweden?

You can get cash with your Visa, MasterCard, Maestro or Cirrus card at any “Bankomat” or “Uttagsautomat” ATM. A small fee can be added for your withdrawal, it's all depending on your bank's terms.

There is often ATM's available directly at the airport, for example on Stockholm Arlanda, Göteborg Landvetter, Skavsta, Malmö and Luleå.

You can also go to a money exchange office like Forex/X-change, Tavex, Change Group, Ria or another currency exchange office. At their respective sites, you can see their rates for different currencies and can compare for example the rates for dollar(USD), Euro (EUR) or maybe Pound (GBP) to the Swedish krona (SEK).

Travelling to Sweden on a visa?

When obtaining a visa for visiting, Sweden requires that you have SEK 450 for each day spent in Sweden. Read more at the Swedish migration agency, Migrationsverket.

Here is a list of the countries whose citizens need a visa before entering Sweden; citizens of countries in need of visas.

Travellers’ cheques

For travellers' cheques, or to exchange from your own currency, please find more information at Forex Bank.

Mobile payments

Many Swedes use the mobile app Swish for doing bank errands and/or mobile payments. The app is connected to something called "BankID" which is a must to have installed on the same device as the Swish-app. BankID is connected to your social security number (SSN) through a bank, therefore everyone wanting to use Swish must have a Swedish bank account and a Swedish SSN (personnummer). Here you can find information about providers of BankID: Banks that offer BankID.