Salary account: what to look for

Your salary lands in the salary account, and most of your life goes out again from there: rent, shopping, subscriptions, card payments. Even so, it is the account that fewest people compare before they choose it. This guide gives an overview of what the salary account is, how it relates to NemKonto (Denmark’s designated account for payments from public authorities), and which prices and terms are worth asking about.

What is a salary account?

Lønkonto (salary account) is an everyday word, not a fixed product name. It covers the account where your employer pays your salary, and from which you pay bills, withdraw cash and use your payment card. Banks call the account different things, and the content varies: some charge an annual fee, others do not, and some include a card, online bank and app, while others charge for individual parts. You therefore cannot conclude anything about price or features from the name itself.

For many people it makes sense to have one main account where income is collected, and to move money on from there to a savings account or an account for fixed expenses. You can read about what such a split can look like in Budget account: how it works.

The salary account usually comes with a payment card and access to the online bank and app, where you can transfer money and see your balance. What is included, and what it costs, is for the bank to decide. So ask specific questions when you choose or switch. If you are choosing a bank in the first place, Which bank should I choose? gives a broader overview, and What does it cost to have a bank? shows which items everyday banking typically consists of.

Salary account and NemKonto

NemKonto is the account into which public authorities pay money. Nemkonto.dk says: “Your NemKonto is the bank account that all public payers use when they are to pay money to you” (our translation of the Danish wording). That applies to child benefit, overpaid tax, pensions and the SU student grant, for example. The Danish Tax Agency says the same about tax: “Skattestyrelsen automatically pays overpaid tax to your NemKonto” (our translation of the Danish wording).

You do not have to create the NemKonto from scratch yourself. Nemkonto.dk describes it as an ordinary bank account that you already have, and you choose which of your accounts serves as your NemKonto. In its bank-switching guide, the Danish Consumer Council Tænk writes, in a passage on customers who are registered in RKI (a Danish credit-information register) and may be turned down for loans or credit cards: “But banks are obliged to set up a NemKonto for you, so that you can receive salary and money from the public sector” (our translation of the Danish wording). That is Tænk’s statement in that context. We have not found a general rule saying you can never be left without an account for payouts when you switch bank, so make sure yourself that your NemKonto points to an open account.

Your salary account is not necessarily your NemKonto. Nemkonto.dk says: “You decide which account is to be your NemKonto,” and: “You can therefore change your NemKonto at any time” (our translation of the Danish wording). The salary account can very well be your NemKonto, but it is a choice. You can change it on nemkonto.dk with MitID (Denmark’s national digital ID), in most Danish online banks, or by asking your Danish bank to do it (source: nemkonto.dk, retrieved 13 October 2026). The full walk-through is in NemKonto explained, and the term is explained in the bank glossary.

If you have several accounts, for example a salary account and a joint account, know which one is registered. It determines where your payout lands, and it is one of the things you should check when you open a new account or switch bank. If you are switching the whole bank, Switch bank in 6 steps takes you through the order of things, and the switching bank hub collects the rest.

Fees and terms to check

A salary account looks simple, but several fees can attach to it. Ask about:

• An annual fee for the account itself, if the bank has one.
• A fee for the payment card, and what it costs to get a new one if it goes missing.
• A fee for withdrawals from other banks’ cash machines.
• A currency fee for payments or withdrawals abroad.
• Overdraft interest if the account goes into the red, and whether there is a fee when a payment cannot be completed because of insufficient funds.
• A fee for paper post and printed account statements.

Each bank has its own price list, and it determines what applies to you. A more detailed walk-through of typical fees is in Hidden bank fees: how to spot them in your own bank, and How to read a bank’s price list shows where in the price list the items hide.

Forbrug.dk (the Danish consumer information site) describes the general rules on fees in consumer agreements. A business may “as a starting point only charge a consumer a fee if it follows from the law”, or if it has been agreed (our translation of the Danish wording). If fees rise, you must be notified, and you must have the right to terminate the agreement before new fees take effect. The page is about consumer agreements in general, not just banks, so use it as a guide and ask the bank how the rules apply to your specific product.

A practical trick is to go through your last three months of account statements and mark every item that is not an ordinary payment: fees, interest, withdrawals at other banks’ cash machines and card payments abroad. Then you know which of the bank’s prices actually hit you, and those are the ones to give most weight when you compare. A price you never use is irrelevant, while a small price you hit every week can become the most expensive item of the year. If you have an agreement where the bank has changed the fees, remember the rule on notice: you must be able to terminate before the new fees take effect.

If you are comparing two banks, ask both for a total annual price for the products you actually use, instead of comparing individual fees separately. The method is described in How to compare two bank offers.

The example only shows the method of calculation. The prices are invented and say nothing about what real banks charge. The point is that small items that recur count when you compare the account on an annual basis.

Interest on the salary account

The money in a salary account is for spending, not for growing. The interest rate is therefore often low or zero, but the bank decides that itself, so it is in the price list. If a larger amount sits there for a period, for example because you are saving up, consider whether part of it belongs in a savings account. How to choose a savings account goes through what to look at, and the savings hub collects the rest.

Large balances can also cost money. Finans Danmark (the Danish banking industry body) says: “The limit for private customers has now been reduced to typically DKK 100,000 in several banks” (our translation of the Danish wording). The same page stresses that “the vast majority of Danes do not pay negative interest rates at all” (our paraphrase). The latest figures on the page date from 2021, however, and limits vary between banks, so ask your bank whether, and from what amount, it charges negative interest on you. The answer should be in the bank’s terms or price list.

If you receive a larger one-off income, for example an inheritance or a sale, decide quickly where the money should be kept. A salary account is rarely the right place for large amounts for any length of time. How much of your deposits is covered by the deposit guarantee is covered in Deposit guarantee: how much of your money is covered?.

Overview: budget account and splitting your money

Many people find it easier to keep track of their money when the salary account does not also have to carry all the fixed expenses. Some banks offer an extra account to which you transfer a fixed amount every month, and from which the bills are paid. The rest stays in the salary account for day-to-day spending. How it works, and how you calculate the amount, is in Budget account: how it works.

If you want to set a budget without opening more accounts, Budgeting with the 50/30/20 model can be a place to start. If you do not need more than one bank at all, or want to spread your accounts, Can you have more than one bank? covers the pros and cons.

If you cannot get an ordinary account

Most people can get a salary account at the bank they choose. If you are turned down, it is good to know the rules on the basic payment account. Finanstilsynet (the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority) says that a bank can refuse to open a basic payment account if, for example, the consumer already has a corresponding account in Denmark at another bank, if opening it would lead to a breach of the anti-money-laundering rules, or if the consumer will not hand over the information the bank has to obtain.

Finanstilsynet also says what a bank cannot use as grounds: “No, a bank cannot reject an application for a basic payment account because the consumer does not have MitID” (our translation of the Danish wording). Nor can the bank refuse because you are registered in RKI, or because you do not live in Denmark when you have legal residence in the EU or EEA. The bank must process a complete application as soon as possible and no later than 10 working days after it was received.

The account makes it possible to withdraw and deposit cash, make payments with a debit card with balance checking and receive money. Finanstilsynet also says that it can be used as a personal NemKonto. That covers the basic needs, but the account does not necessarily have the same extras as an ordinary salary account.

Read more in What is a basic payment account? and Can a bank refuse you an account?.

What to ask the bank

When you choose or compare salary accounts, these are good questions to ask:

• Does the account or the card cost anything per year?
• What does it cost to withdraw at other banks’ cash machines, and what does an overdraft cost?
• From what amount, if any, do you charge negative interest on balances?
• Will the account become my NemKonto, or do I have to change that myself?
• Do you offer an extra account for fixed expenses, and what does it cost?

Should I have more than one salary account?

Most people manage with one, but some have an extra account for shared expenses with a partner or for a particular purpose. That is fine, as long as you know which payments go from which account, and which one is your NemKonto.

Does it matter where my NemKonto is if I switch bank?

The Danish Consumer Council Tænk writes in its bank-switching guide that when you use the e-bankskifte switching service, agreements and payments are moved automatically, for example the salary account, recurring payments and standing transfers, and that your new bank can move your Betalingsservice (the Danish direct-debit scheme) payments. If you switch without that service, you cannot count on everything being moved by itself. Even so, check for yourself on nemkonto.dk or in the online bank that your NemKonto points to the right account before the next payout.

Should I choose a salary account with or without a fee?

Some banks offer an account without an annual fee, while others attach a fee to the account and give something else in return, for example a discount on other products. Look at the total price of what you actually use, not just at whether the account itself has a fee.

Can I have my salary account at one bank and my savings at another?

Yes. No requirement says that all your accounts must be in the same place. Some spread them to get the best interest rate or the lowest fees, others consolidate everything for the sake of overview. Just keep track of which account is your NemKonto, however you distribute them. The pros and cons are described in Can you have more than one bank?.

Read about budget accounts: how they work

Read also: personal, switching bank, which bank should you choose?, what does it cost to have a bank? and NemKonto explained.