What’s the difference between a Dankort and a Visa/Dankort
There are many misconceptions about Dankort and Visa/Dankort.
Here’s a clear explanation of what makes them different — and when you can accept one or the other.
Visa/Dankort is often misunderstood. This is mainly due to the technical setup behind online payments and the fact that few people actually know what these two cards are.
What is a Visa/Dankort?
Simply put:
A Visa/Dankort is two cards in one — a Dankort and a Visa card combined.
We often refer to a “pure Dankort” to make it clear we’re talking about the standalone Danish card, not the combined version.
When you use a Visa/Dankort in Denmark, you’re using the Dankort part.
Abroad — for example, in Spain — you’re using the Visa part.
For the customer, the payment experience is identical, but Visa transactions usually come with higher fees.
That’s straightforward in physical stores, but things get more complex online.
Webshops, acquirers and integrations
When an online store accepts a payment, several parties are involved: the cardholder, the store, a payment gateway, and an acquirer.
The acquirer approves the store to accept specific card types — this approval is called an acquiring agreement.
There are two types of acquiring agreements:
- For international cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express)
- For Dankort
Many acquirers can process international cards, but only one — Nets — can handle Dankort.
This means you can accept Visa/Dankort payments through either a Dankort agreement or an international card agreement.
If you have a Dankort agreement, the transaction goes through the Dankort part.
If you have an international agreement, it goes through the Visa part.
You can only accept pure Dankort if you have an agreement with Nets.
Different gateways integrate with acquirers in different ways.
Some use Nets as an intermediary, which means they can’t process Visa/Dankort transactions on the Visa side at all.
Always ask your payment gateway whether you can accept Visa/Dankort if you don’t use Nets.
At ePay, we have direct integrations with all our acquirers, meaning you can accept Visa/Dankort on the Visa side through all other acquirers than Nets.
Differences between Dankort and Visa transactions
- Price
Dankort is by far the cheapest payment method in Denmark.
If you process payments on the Visa side, fees are higher.
You can check Nets’ pricing for details. Visa fees vary between acquirers. - Dankort logo
If you accept Visa/Dankort through acquirers other than Nets, you may not display the Dankort logo, since you’re technically not processing Dankort payments.
Still, many Danish customers find the logo reassuring. - Settlement time
Dankort payments are settled within 1–2 banking days, while Visa transactions are usually paid out once a week — though this varies by acquirer.
Should I choose Dankort or Visa/Dankort?
As a rule, you should offer as many payment options as possible — the more you support, the higher your conversion rate.
However, if you must choose, consider:
- Who your customers are — do they use Dankort or Visa/Dankort?
- Which markets you sell to — only Denmark or abroad?
- How many transactions you handle — small or large volume?
For a new webshop, Visa/Dankort (via the Visa part) can be a simple way to start.
But as your transaction volume grows, it may become more cost-effective to add a Dankort agreement.
Ultimately, it depends on your business.
Some merchants value accepting Dankort.
Others prefer to avoid Nets’ monopoly on it.
Choose the option that makes the most sense for you.
And as always — feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
