Money & Payments in Åre (2026)

ATMs and currency exchanges in Sweden offer two language options by default: Swedish and English.
Swish is a popular mobile payment app in Sweden that allows instant transfers between users. However, Swish requires a Swedish bank account and a personal identity number, making it inaccessible for most tourists.
Sweden is the most cashless major economy and many shops refuse cash.
While the majority of Swedish cities and tourist areas typically accept debit cards, some smaller shops, local vendors, or remote locations might only accept cash, even though that's uncommon.

Bank ATMs: Bank ATMs in Sweden do not charge any ATM Access Fees per transaction to foreign card holders (Swedish Krona).
Home Bank Fees: Your card issuer may charge an international ATM fee, a foreign-currency conversion fee or, for credit cards, a cash-advance fee and interest.
Independent ATMs: Non-bank ATMs, operated by independent ATM operators, charge SEK 30 to SEK 55 per transaction.
Private Operators: Some private ATMs in Sweden may charge up to 50 SEK as of 2026.
Dynamic Currency Conversion: In Sweden, some ATMs may ask – Accept OR Decline Conversion (also known as With or Without Conversion, or Charge in SEK). If you 'Accept' – ATM converts your money at ATM's set exchange rate and you pay an extra % fee to the ATM for currency conversion also. If you 'Decline' – ATM will convert at exchange rate of the bank/card logo (Visa, Master, etc.). So, to avoid extra fees while withdrawing cash in Sweden, select 'Decline/Without' Conversion or 'Charge in SEK'.

Network: Bankomat is a shared ATM network owned by five banks: Nordea, Handelsbanken, Swedbank, SEB, and Danske Bank.
Availability: There are over 2,100 ATMs in Sweden. You can easily find one in all big cities, but even smaller towns typically have some available.
Accepted Cards: ATMs commonly accept Visa and Mastercards. Some of them also accept Plus and Cirrus cards. Only some accept American Express, Diners, Discover cards.
Pin Requirement: ATMs in Sweden typically accept 4-digit PINs.
Withdrawal Limits: ATMs in Sweden have a maximum withdrawal limit per transaction of SEK 2,000 (Swedish Krona) for most types of cards (Visa, Mastercard, etc.). Amex cards usually have a withdrawal limit of up to SEK 5,000 in one transaction.

Overview: Sweden is almost entirely cashless. Cards and mobile payments (especially Swish) are standard. Some places won't even accept cash.

Local Currency: SEK (Swedish Krona)
Cash Denominations: The Swedish Krona (SEK) is the local currency, with notes in denominations of 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 SEK.

Taxis: When taking a taxi in Sweden, tipping is not obligatory. However, many people choose to round up the fare to the nearest 10 or 20 SEK. For example, if your fare is 185 SEK, you might round it up to 200 SEK.
Hotels: For hotel staff in Sweden, tipping is not expected. You may offer a tip to a stellar service worker, but tipping at hotels in Sweden is generally quite rare.
Restaurants: When eating out in Sweden it is common to round up to the nearest big number. For example if your bill comes to 280 SEK, you can round up to 300 SEK.
Tipping Amount: A nice tip (and one that is pretty easy to calculate) is to add 10% of the final bill.
General Culture: Tipping isn't really part of Swedish culture, especially when compared to many other countries. While it is always appreciated, it is not typically expected. In other words, tipping is seen as a nice gesture rather than a requirement.
Service Charge Included: Sometimes a service charge is included in the bill, but this will be clearly stated on the bill.

Overview: Sweden is a country where credit and debit cards are used frequently—more so than cash in many cities and towns. Even small stores and kiosks will take a card payment, meaning that you don't necessarily need to carry around a huge amount of local cash if you're sticking to the cities.
Other Cards: Discover cards have 'moderate' merchant acceptance—meaning they are taken by some stores and restaurants but not others. Discover and Amex cards can both be used in Bankomat ATMs.
Visa Mastercard: Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted in Sweden.
Chip And Pin Requirement: Ensure your card has a chip and PIN, as magnetic-stripe cards are often unsupported.

Swish: Swish is a mobile payment service in Sweden that enables users to make instant, real-time transfers between bank accounts using smartphones, primarily by entering a recipient's phone number or scanning a QR code, with funds available 24/7 and settled directly from linked bank accounts.
Other Methods: Accepted payment methods include Credit/debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express), cash (SEK), and mobile payments (Swish, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay). Contactless payments are widely accepted, including mobile wallets; Swish is a popular local app.
Swish Accessibility: The user must have a bank account in a Swedish bank participating in the system, and also a national ID number. Users who have a Swedish bank account but no suitable phone can register for reception only of payments. The phone number can be of another country.

Challenges: Opening as non-resident is complex; many banks prefer Swedish business address or proof of employment/study. Some require BankID for online applications, which creates a catch-22 situation without an existing account.
Major Banks: Swedbank, SEB (Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken), Handelsbanken, Nordea
Bank Account Setup: EU/EEA citizens can open bank accounts relatively easily with passport and proof of residence. Non-EU citizens may need residence permit and personnummer (Swedish personal ID number). Banks cannot legally reject EU/EEA citizens based on lack of Swedish address or personnummer.
Processing Time: Applications typically processed within 2 weeks after personnummer registration
Online Alternatives: Digital banks like Lunar (for Swedish residents, free standard account) and Revolut (for non-residents, currency conversion available)

EU EEA Citizens: Valid passport/EU ID, proof of residence in Sweden
Non EU Citizens: Residence permit, personnummer from Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket), proof of Swedish address, proof of income (typically required)

AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026

These are the sources cited in this money & payments research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.

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Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.