The most beautiful cities in Sweden

Sweden is a country of rare beauty, even amid its starkest northern landscapes. Its cities and towns testify to 1000 years of urban life, but there are precious places offering glimpses into even older traditions of human settlement.

Money

The krona (plural kronor) is the Swedish currency unit. Swedes speaking English often use the term “crowns”.

The krona is made up of 100 öre, but this tiny unit is not often used in pricing and öre coins are no longer in use. Cash payments are rounded to the nearest whole krona. Banknotes are 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000kr. The coins are 1, 2, 5 and 10kr.

The Swedish krona is not interchangeable with the Danish or Norwegian krone. The international currency code is SEK.

Sweden is not part of the European monetary union, so few businesses would accept euros. Those that do cannot be expected to offer a good exchange rate.

Payments

Sweden can be regarded as almost cashless. Travellers to Scandinavia should not arrive without a chip-and-PIN debit or credit card they can use everywhere, or a similar smartphone-operated account. Card and digital wallets operated by smartphone are the most common forms of payment and travellers aiming to use cash everywhere are likely to find difficulties. For cards, Visa and Mastercard are the preferred choices.

There is no guarantee of being able to use cash in Sweden, even at banks. Some small businesses and retailers might demand cash, so carrying some is a worthwhile precaution, but small businesses such as shops and restaurants are not obliged to accept it.

Direct tapping of cards is used in several cities for bus and tram fares.

In Sweden, a receipt is almost always offered by retailers.

The Swish payment system is common in Sweden. However it is linked to a Swedish personal identity number, which is issued only to people living 12 months or longer in the country, as well as a Swedish bank account.

In restaurants and cafes, payment by electronic terminal is normal. Sometimes tip options are offered, but at other times the diner is asked to punch in the total amount to pay, which is standard practice in Norway. Rounding up when paying is common but not expected. If a service charge is included, it will be clearly stated on the bill.

Banks

Swedish bank branches do not handle cash over the counter. For other inquiries and concerns, big-city branches are generally open 9.00-15.00 Monday to Wednesday and Friday, but may open until 18.00 on Thursday. Do not expect late opening at small destinations.

Automatic tellers (ATMs) are most common in shopping areas and transport hubs but they are also found at or outside bank branches.

For cash withdrawals, fees are not applied at ATMs of the Bankomat network, which are at more than 500 locations run by a consortium of large banks. Maestro and Cirrus network cards are widely accepted. Any withdrawal fees or limit for card withdrawals is most likely to be limited by the user’s account restrictions.

Withdrawal charges in the range of 20-50kr are common at other ATMs.

Exchange

Forex is the dominant foreign exchange group in Sweden.

There is no fee for exchange or purchase, and re-exchange at the end of a trip will incur no fee if the original receipt is produced. Otherwise re-exchange costs 50kr per transaction. https://www.forex.se/en/customer-service/questions-and-answers/Currency-Sales-Tax/