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Personal financesPublished

Expat or student? How to get a free Danish bank account easier than ever.

Get a free Danish bank account and digital card as a non-citizen all safe and digital. Manage your money and NemKonto in an English banking app crammed with helpful features. You will join more than 950,000 users with a Lunar bank account.

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Why do you need a Danish bank account?

In most cases, you’ll need a Danish bank account and NemKonto to receive payments like your salary and other payments from the public sector like tax refunds, student loans and social welfare payments.

A NemKonto is basically just a normal bank account that you have in Denmark which you will assign as your NemKonto. All payments from Danish public institutions will be transferred to this account, and some private enterprises can also make payments to your NemKonto.

What do you need to get a Danish bank account?

Don’t worry. Getting a bank account in Denmark is not as difficult as it may seem. All you need is

  • Official identity documents (such as a passport or driver's license)
  • Danish CPR number
  • MitID

And if you’re wondering what your CPR number and MitID are? Let’s go through them both bit by bit:

CPR.

Your CPR number is your Danish civil registration number. CPR stands for Central Person Register, and this is essential in relation to any contact with the Danish authorities.

You’ll also need a CPR number to receive your salary, get insurance or even go to the doctor. To get your CPR number, you’ll need to show up at a Citizen Service Centre or International Citizen Service Centre. And remember, you’ll need to book an appointment first.

Find a Citizen Service Centre and book your appointment here.

MitID.

MitID is your personal identification key, and your gateway to accessing different digital services – or for two-factor authentication, in some cases.

To get your MitID you will need to book an in-person appointment at your local Citizen Service Centre or tax office. You will also need to bring your Danish CPR number as well as certain identity documents (which the office with inform you about).

With your personal ID, CPR number, and MitID, you can now apply for a Danish bank account.

Get started with MitID here.

What do you need to be aware of when opening a bank account?

It can be a jungle trying to figure out what different banks offer in terms of private accounts. As a rule of thumb, it can be a good idea to be aware of:

  • Pricing – what fees the bank will charge (such as a sign-up fee, transfer fees, etc.)
  • What additional services are offered – does the bank have an app, offer good support, etc.
  • NemKonto – can you attach your NemKonto to the bank? This is very important to know as you will need a NemKonto for a variety of public matters.

Get a free bank account with Lunar.

At Lunar, we love smart and simple banking (who doesn’t?). That’s why, as an expat, you can get a free Danish bank account with us so you can, for example, receive payments and open your NemKonto. You’ll also get a free digital card that comes without annual fees, and you’ll be joining 950,000 other Lunar users.

Sign up easily from the comfort of your home via the Lunar app. So long as you have your personal ID, CPR number and MitID ready, it should only take a few minutes to apply.

How to apply for a Danish bank account with Lunar.

Simply download the Lunar app and open it to start your application. In the application process, you will be asked the following simple questions:

  • What is your citizenship?
  • Where were you born?
  • In which country are you liable to pay taxes?
  • What are your main purposes of using Lunar?
  • Are you expecting to receive money from countries outside of Denmark?
  • Are you expecting to send money to countries outside of Denmark?
  • Do you expect to use Lunar as your only bank, your primary bank or your secondary bank?
  • Do you live in Denmark?

After answering these questions, you can review the terms and conditions and confirm your request using your MitID and CPR number. After that, you will need to sign an electronic bank account contract, with the last step being to upload a photo of your passport or driver's license. The entire process should only take a few minutes.

That’s it. Once you have provided all the information that has been asked of you we will review your application so you can access your new Danish bank account as soon as possible.

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