Before you start

CPR number
MitID
Passport and residence permit or EU residence document
Employment contract, usually requested

Step-by-step

1
Book a bank appointment once the CPR number exists
Danish banks open accounts for residents with a CPR number. Some will begin the process at International House Copenhagen; otherwise book a branch appointment. Bring passport, permit, CPR proof and contract.
In personWho: YouWeek 1–3
2
Designate the account as your NemKonto
Once open, register it as your NemKonto — the single account the public sector pays into. Tax refunds, holiday allowance and benefits all go there without you providing details each time. This is a one-off step and a great many people forget it and then wonder where a refund went.
OnlineWho: You
3
Get MobilePay working
MobilePay is how Danes settle anything between individuals and pay many small businesses, market stalls and sports clubs. It links to your account and phone number and requires MitID to set up.
Mobile appWho: You
4
Set up Betalingsservice for recurring bills
Betalingsservice is the Danish direct debit system. Rent, utilities, insurance and union dues all run through it. Bills arrive in e-Boks rather than on paper, so set up direct debits and check the digital letterbox weekly.
OnlineWho: You
5
Decide how you will handle Swedish krona if you deal with Malmö
The Øresund region uses two currencies. Anyone shopping, commuting or working across the bridge ends up needing SEK, and Danish bank conversion is expensive. A multi-currency account or a specialist service saves a meaningful amount over a year.
OnlineWho: You
6
Keep almost no cash
Copenhagen is effectively cashless. Cards and MobilePay are accepted everywhere including buses and markets, and some shops decline notes entirely. Carrying cash is unnecessary rather than useful.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

CPR number and health card
MitID
Passport
Residence permit or EU residence document
Employment contract

Things most newcomers don’t know

NemKonto means the state already knows where to pay you, and forgetting to set it makes money vanish quietly.

Every Danish resident designates one bank account to receive all public payments. Tax refunds after the annual assessment, holiday allowance paid out by Feriepengeinfo, child benefit and pension all go there without any further paperwork. If you never designate one, those payments simply sit unpaid — there is no letter chasing you, and the first many people know of it is a balance they cannot account for. Set it the day the account opens.

Source: borger.dk / NemKonto

MitID is the gate to almost everything, and it is issued off the CPR number, not the bank.

MitID is the national electronic ID, used for online banking, the tax agency, health records, e-Boks, insurance, utility accounts and much of the private sector. You obtain it once you have a CPR number and are over 15, with an in-person identity check — often at the same International House visit. Without it you are locked out of self-service everywhere, and there is no password-based alternative for most of it.

Source: MitID / Digitaliseringsstyrelsen

Digital Post is where deadlines live, and not reading it is not a defence.

Danish authorities communicate through Digital Post in e-Boks. Tax assessments, permit decisions, municipal letters and court documents all arrive there and are legally delivered on arrival. Time limits run from that moment whether or not you open it. Newcomers who treat it as an optional convenience discover a missed deadline retrospectively, which is much harder to unwind than an unread email.

Source: borger.dk

The two-currency problem is real if any part of your life crosses the bridge.

Copenhagen and Malmö are thirty-five minutes apart but use different currencies, and Danish bank foreign-exchange margins on SEK are not competitive. Anyone commuting, shopping or being paid across the Øresund will convert money repeatedly, and the spread compounds. Öresunddirekt, the joint Danish-Swedish information service, is the right first stop for anything involving both sides — including which country's bank you should hold your salary in.

Source: Øresunddirekt

Common mistakes to avoid

Opening an account and never designating it as your NemKonto.
Trying to open an account before the CPR number is issued.
Not checking e-Boks and missing a deadline that ran from digital delivery.
Converting DKK to SEK repeatedly through a Danish bank at retail spreads.
Leaving Denmark without closing accounts and settling tax, which is much harder from abroad.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.