Most people from around the world is used to using ATMs to withdraw cash, but whenever you visit a new country, it’s smart to check out what the local customs is when it comes with withdrawing cash.
Most Norwegians don’t really used cash to pay for anything, so how does that affect the availability of ATMs in Norway? Let’s take a closer look at how common ATMs are in Norway, where to find them, and how to use them!
Despite the fact that Norway is a mostly cashless society, there are ATMs pretty much everywhere, including in small towns and villages. All ATMs can be used with Visa or Mastercard, and you won’t have any problem withdrawing cash with either of these two cards.
How to find ATMs in Norway
Most towns, villages and of course cities will have at least one ATM, and you likely won’t have to travel very far to find one. Here’s how to easily find ATMs in Norway:
A good trick to finding ATMs is to use Google Maps and search for ATMs. This will give you a closer look at your nearest ATMs. Another option is to look for a bank (all banks also have ATMs at or outside the bank), or ask a person you meet for directions to the nearest one.
The most common place to find ATMs in Norway is just outside a bank, so look for buildings that says Sparebank 1, DNB or Nordea. The second most common place is inside or just outside shopping malls and shopping districts.
Very small towns and villages will typically have their ATMs close to or at the local grocery store, the local gas station or the city center. Your best bet is probably to ask someone, look around or use Google Maps. Smaller towns will usually only have a single ATM, so you are stuck with the one that’s there.
Make sure to keep in mind that the Norwegian word for ATM is minibank. The signs leading to it will say minibank, and not ATM. Some Norwegians might even be a bit confused by the word ATM is you ask for directions, but they will understand what you mean if you ask for a minibank.
How to use Norwegian ATMs
Norwegian ATMs are pretty much like all ATMs around the world, so just deposit your debit or credit card into the machine, type in your PIN, and tell the machine how much money you would like to withdraw.
Most ATMs have a set limit of how much money you can withdraw, and a common cap is to have 5000 NOK per day per card. This can be raised by calling your local bank to let them remove it for you.
All Norwegian ATMs will have the option to change the language to English. Click on the Norwegian flag or the word Language or Språk to change.
Other than take, you pretty much only need to type in your PIN code, the amount of want to withdraw, and whether or not you want a receipt on the transaction.
Things to make sure of before you bring your credit card to Norway
If you’re coming from aboard, there are a few things you will want to check out before you leave for Norway.
Firstly, make sure you have a card that is either Visa or Mastercard. Norway does not really used American Express or Discover, so you might not find many ATMs that accept these. You might find machines that accept these in bigger cities like Oslo, Bergen or Trondhiem, but you are not going to be able to do that in smaller towns.
On the other hand, pretty much all accept Mastercard and Visa. These two are the standard ones in Norway that 99 % of the population uses, so these are safe to bring to both ATMs and in-store card payment terminals.
Another thing to check out before you leave is that your PIN code is only 4 digits. Norwegian ATMs only use a 4 digit PIN code system, and I have heard of tourists who have not managed to withdraw cash due to the fact that they have a 6 digit PIN code.
Most people don’t have any trouble, but change to a 4 digit PIN code before you leave just to be on the safe side.
You might also want to make sure your bank is aware that you are travelling to Norway. Some banks will think that your card has been stolen when it is suddenly used at the other side of the world, but a quick call will make them aware of your travel, and remove any potential scam flagging issue before you leave.
Are ATM scams common in Norway?
There are plenty of countries where criminals have specialized in scamming ATM machines by ripping of the information of the card that enters, then use these card details to other type of scams and criminal activity. Luckily, ATM scams are very rare in Norway, and you can generally feel safe when depositing your debit or credit card into an ATM.
Tourist trap ATMs in Norway
Europe is filled with tourist trap ATMs where certain ATM companies place ATMs in very strategic locations to try to bait tourists into using them.
The machines themselves are perfectly legal and operational, but the tourist trap part comes from the fact that these ATMs have insane fees.
There are pretty few tourist trap ATMs in Norway, but you will find some in Oslo, Bergen and the great Oslo metropolitan area.
I’m not going to be called out names and call certain companies scam companies here, but I just want to mention that a Norwegian newspaper found that ATMs from Euronet charges about 4x times as high fees as regular ATMs from Norwegian banks.
So if you don’t want to pay insane fees, consider not using Euronet ATMs when visiting Norway or other European countries.
