Frequently asked questions

NemKonto has successfully been implemented by public authorities, so it is only natural that the private sector should also be able to reap the efficiency benefits offered by this digital solution. With NemKonto, the Danish parliament wants to exploit modern technology to ease the administrative burden for Private Payers as well.

A Private Payment Service Provider will often be someone who is already handling payments – either on its own behalf or on behalf of other companies. That will typically be payroll administration agencies, insurance and pension companies or banks.

The individual payment receiver can always opt out of private payments by notifying a Private Payer that he/she does not want payments to be made to his/her NemKonto.

See section 5a(3) of the Danish Act on Public Payments etc.

Only persons with a Danish CPR number who reside in Denmark need a NemKonto. This is specified in the Danish Act on Public Payments. It is therefore voluntary for persons with a Danish CPR number who reside abroad whether they want to create a NemKonto. The same applies to persons residing in Greenland or the Faroe Islands.

Each month, nearly 40,000 citizens change their NemKonto account number. It is therefore a good idea to use the NemKonto system every time you make a payment. By doing so, you make sure that payments are made to the citizen’s/company’s right and chosen bank account. 

A company is not allowed to make payment to a NemKonto until it has been authorised to process civil registration numbers (CPR) and when it has notified the recipient that it will be making payments to the NemKonto. The recipient may notify the Private Payer at any time that he/she no longer wants payments to be made from the company to his/her NemKonto.

Private Payers must at all times be able to document to the Danish Agency for Digital Government that they have grounds for using the NemKonto system. Accordingly, Private Payers must be able to document that their use of the NemKonto system precedes any payment to the person in question.

The act allows Private Payers to use the NemKonto system. Private Payers means natural and legal entities that make payments. The delimitation of Private Payers in relation to public authorities is determined by whether the payer is covered by the Danish Public Administration Act or section 12 of the act.

The NemKonto system for Private Payers can be used subject to prior notification of the recipient of the payment that future payments will be made to his/her NemKonto. Such notification must comply with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation. Moreover, it is a requirement that companies are authorised to process civil registration numbers (CPR). Such authorisation may already be provided by legislation (e.g. for reporting to public authorities) or by having already obtained the consent of the recipient of the payment to process his/her civil registration number.

The payment service provider may only send payment notifications for completion in the NemKonto system in immediate relation to the expected completion of a payment to a recipient.

The phrase “expected” covers all situations where the subsequent payment process for some reason cannot be completed.

To get started on the connection process, the Private Payment Service Provider must fill out at request form and submit it to NemKonto Support. You can always contact NemKonto Support to learn more about the system or the connection.

Read more about the connection process

The reference is a unique number generated by the Private Payer and will thus be attached to the payment notification. The number is also part of the completed payment notification.

The reference number identifies the payment that the NemKonto request must use to complete. The reference number must be unique within a period of the current year and five years back.

Notice of changes to the current interface will be given 3 months in advance, and notice will be given to the companies with which the Danish Agency for Digital Government has concluded a connection agreement. Moreover, the notice will also be published on this website for NemKonto.

Unfortunately, the Danish Agency for Digital Government cannot shorten field names as they must follow the current OIOXML standard.

The NemKonto system applies either the NemKonto account number or the type of error code that belongs to the submitted CPR/SE/P/CVR number on the forwarded payment notification.

The NemKonto system only returns a NemKonto account number or a relevant error code. 

The bundle size is limited to 10,000 payment notifications in order to ensure quick file processing. NemKonto for Private Payers has a total capacity of 80 bundles of 10,000 payment notifications per hour. This capacity is distributed among the Private Payment Service Providers.

NemKonto for Private Payers is a system that runs 24/7/365. The exception is the periods (in the following called service windows) during which it is necessary to carry out system updates, reorganise operations and network connections. Under normal circumstances, the service windows will be placed at night and not more than eight times per year. Service windows last a couple of hours.