ATMs in Sweden: Fees and How to Find One

Sweden’s banks don’t run their own ATMs any more. They share one network, and its rules are the ones that matter: what it charges you (nothing), what it caps, what it does with a swallowed card, and how to find one outside a city.

When you need this

You want a small cash reserve after landing, for a flea market or a tip. You’re in a small town wondering whether there’s an ATM at all. The screen is offering to “convert” your withdrawal into euros. A withdrawal was just refused, or the machine kept your card. Or you need euros for the ferry to Finland.

First, the honest question: do you need cash? Mostly not. Cards work almost everywhere, and a 200–500 kr reserve is plenty for most trips — see can you pay with cash in Sweden for the places where notes still help.

One network: Bankomat

The word you’ll see on the machines is Bankomat. It isn’t just a generic word for an ATM here: it’s the company Bankomat AB, jointly owned by Danske Bank, Handelsbanken, Nordea, SEB and Swedbank including the savings banks. Its uttagsautomater (withdrawal machines) and insättningsautomater (deposit machines) are the country’s cash network, in almost 600 localities.

Bank branches mostly don’t handle cash any more and send their own customers to these same machines — so don’t walk into a bank expecting a counter withdrawal (more in opening hours in Sweden).

Bankomat machines take Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, American Express, Diners Club, Discover, UnionPay and several other networks.

What an ATM withdrawal costs

Bankomat’s own answer is plain: it charges cardholders no fee of its own. Anything you pay comes from the bank that issued your card.

The last row is the expensive one. When any ATM or card terminal offers to charge you “in your home currency”, it is converting through the machine’s provider rather than your bank, with its margin built into the rate — typically worse. Sweden’s consumer bureau advises paying in the local currency, and card-scheme rules say the machine must offer you the choice, not make it for you. Always pick SEK. The same rule applies at card terminals; see using credit and debit cards in Sweden.

FOREX Bank runs its own separate ATMs and counters, some dispensing kronor, with their own fees and exchange rates. Read the screen before you confirm.

How to withdraw cash, step by step

1. Decide whether you need cash at all. A 200–500 kr reserve covers most trips.
2. Check your bank’s terms before you go: foreign-withdrawal fee, daily limit, and whether a credit-card withdrawal counts as a cash advance.
3. Find a Bankomat on the map at bankomat.se or in the Hitta Bankomat app.
4. Prefer an indoor or well-lit machine in daytime, and shield the keypad.
5. Choose English if the screen offers a language.
6. Withdraw in multiples of 100 kr, and 2,000 kr or less if your card is from outside the network.
7. Decline any home-currency offer; choose to be charged in SEK.
8. Take your card first, then the cash, and keep the receipt until the withdrawal shows on your statement.
9. If the machine keeps your card, call your card issuer to block it.

Limits, notes and the 2,000 kr surprise

Your own bank sets your withdrawal limit — but the network has limits of its own that catch visitors out:

• 2,000 kr per withdrawal for card issuers that are not Bankomat customers, which may well include your bank. 5,000 kr for American Express.
• 30 notes per withdrawal, a technical limit in the machine.
• Notes: most machines stock 100, 200 and 500 kr notes.

So if a 3,000 kr withdrawal is refused, your card is probably fine. Try 2,000 kr, or less, before calling your bank.

Where to find an ATM

Use the map on Bankomat’s website or the Hitta Bankomat app. Both show every machine in the network, and the app also shows which machines stock foreign currency. In practice machines sit at shopping centers, stations, supermarkets and town centers. Machines inside shops, stations and malls can only be used while the building is open.

Density is the thing to plan around. Cities have plenty. Outside them, coverage is set by a legal distance rule (below), so a village may have no machine while the nearest service town does. Islands and mountain resorts may have one machine or none — withdraw in the last larger town before heading out.

If the machine keeps your card

It won’t come back. Bankomat destroys swallowed cards rather than returning them — a security requirement of the card-issuing banks. Call your card issuer straight away to block it and arrange a replacement, and switch to your backup card. In a country that runs on cards, losing one matters far more than being short of cash, which is why a second card stored separately is the best travel-money insurance there is. If your wallet itself is gone, see lost wallet or stolen cards.

Euros and other currencies

Some Bankomat machines dispense euros, US dollars and pounds, and a few others such as Danish and Norwegian kronor. Bankomat charges the withdrawal in SEK at its posted exchange rate with no further markup; your own bank may still add its foreign fee. Heading on to Finland or Estonia? A euro machine can save a trip to an exchange desk — the Hitta Bankomat app shows which ones stock it. For the wider exchange-desk question, see exchanging currency in Sweden.

Why there are fewer ATMs every year

The network is shrinking fast:

That’s 36% fewer in seven years, while withdrawals fell 63%. Yet the number of places with an ATM rose from 530 to 600 — because the law counts distance, not machines.

Since 1 January 2021 the largest banks must provide cash services across the country: at most 0.3% of the population may live more than 25 km by road from a place to withdraw cash (1.22% for deposits). PTS, the Post and Telecom Authority, supervises it.

Updated for 1 July 2026: a further amendment to the Payment Services Act, decided by the Riksdag on 27 May 2026, strengthened banks’ duty to offer cash deposit services. The same package made grocery stores and pharmacies accept cash — so leftover notes spend easily at a supermarket staffed till on your last day. Most travel content still describes only the 2021 rules.

Practical information

FAQ

Are there ATMs in Sweden?

Yes, but fewer than you might expect. The banks’ shared network, Bankomat, had 1,206 ATMs at the end of 2024 in about 600 towns, after years of decline. By law the largest banks must keep a withdrawal point within 25 km by road of 99.7% of residents, so every region is covered, but small villages often have none.

Do ATMs in Sweden charge fees?

Bankomat, the banks’ shared network, charges cardholders no fee of its own. Any fee comes from the bank that issued your card, so check your bank’s foreign-withdrawal terms before traveling. Credit cards may add cash-advance charges. Other operators such as FOREX Bank set their own prices. The costlier trap is accepting a conversion into your home currency.

How much can I withdraw from a Swedish ATM?

Your own bank sets your limit, but Bankomat applies a general cap of 2,000 kr per withdrawal for card issuers that are not its customers, and 5,000 kr for American Express. Machines also dispense no more than 30 notes at a time. If a larger withdrawal is refused, try 2,000 kr before assuming your card is blocked.

Should I choose SEK or my home currency at the ATM?

Choose SEK. When a machine offers to charge you in euros, dollars or pounds, the conversion is done by the machine’s provider rather than your bank, with its margin built into the rate. Sweden’s consumer bureau says paying in the local currency is usually cheapest. Your bank will then convert at its own rate, plus any foreign fee it charges.

How do I find an ATM in Sweden?

Use the map on Bankomat’s website or its Hitta Bankomat app, which shows every machine in the network and which ones stock foreign currency. Machines are typically at shopping centers, stations, supermarkets and town centers. Bank branches are no help: most no longer handle cash and point customers to Bankomat instead.

What happens if a Swedish ATM keeps my card?

It is gone. Bankomat destroys swallowed cards rather than returning them, as a security requirement of the card-issuing banks. Call your card issuer straight away to block the card and arrange a replacement, and switch to your backup card. That is why carrying a second card, stored separately, matters in a country that runs on cards.

Can I get euros from an ATM in Sweden?

Often, yes. Some Bankomat machines dispense euros, US dollars and pounds, and a few stock currencies such as Danish or Norwegian kronor. Bankomat charges the withdrawal in SEK at its posted exchange rate with no further markup, though your own bank may add its foreign fee. Check the Hitta Bankomat app for machines stocking the currency you need.

Related guides

• Can you pay with cash in Sweden? — where notes still work, and the July 2026 acceptance law
• Using credit and debit cards in Sweden — PINs, declines and the same DCC rule at terminals
• Money in Sweden: the complete guide — the whole money picture in one place
• Exchanging currency in Sweden — exchange desks versus ATMs
• Lost wallet or stolen cards — what to do when your card is gone

---

Facts verified 2026-09-24. Sources: Bankomat AB, Post- och telestyrelsen (PTS), Sveriges riksdag, Visa, FOREX Bank — full register in this topic’s source file. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.