Danish Retail Group To Accept International Card Brands

Coop Danmark, a grocery and retail chain in Denmark, will allow customers to pay for purchases with international card brands, providing more competition for the Dankort national debit brand and cash, a spokesperson for PBS A/S, the chain's processor and acquirer, tells CardLine Global. PBS says the move represents the first time a large grocery chain in Denmark has accepted international card brands. Consumers with cards carrying such brands as American Express, MasterCard and Visa now can use those cards for purchases at Kvickly Xtra, Kvickly, SuperBrugsen, Brugsen, Dagli', LokalBrugsen and Irma stores. Consumers using cards issued in Denmark pay no fees, though merchants can charge fees for cards issued outside Denmark, PBS says. "We expect that other merchants, especially supermarkets, will soon accept international payment cards as well," the spokesperson says. Last year, the spokesperson says, consumers made at least 21 million transactions with Danish-issued cards that carry international brands. That compares with at least 737 million transactions made with Dankort debit cards. "As more international payment cards are issued and more foreigners visit Denmark, we believe that it will affect the acceptance of international payment cards in a positive direction," the spokesperson says.