The town with no bank and no ATM

Facts last verified 2026-10-03

Longyearbyen once had a cash machine that greeted you with “Welcome to world’s northernmost ATM machine”. It was a fine claim to fame. Then Norway did what Norway does, and went digital.

Goodbye, northernmost bank

For 61 years, Svalbard had one bank branch, in Longyearbyen. In 2020 SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge, which ran it, decided to close it as part of a cost-cutting round across northern Norway. The bank said the reason was simple: most customers now did their banking online. The doors closed at the end of 2020, and the ATM was removed soon afterwards.

Not everyone was thrilled. Locals worried about cash for tourists and banking for the town’s many foreign workers. Today the nearest bank counter is a flight away in Tromsø, and the bank visits town from time to time instead.

Why nobody misses the cash

Norway is one of the most digital countries in the world when it comes to money. In Norges Bank’s surveys, cash is used for only about 3% of payments in shops and between people, and that share has hardly moved since 2020. Most Norwegians pay by card or with their phone, and send money to friends with Vipps, the Norwegian payment app. Ask a local for change and you may get a puzzled look.

Longyearbyen takes this one step further. Businesses in town accept cards or phone payments, and some discourage cash altogether. The local council’s own advice to newcomers says the Coop store will still take Norwegian kroner, but not much else does.

What it means for you

• Bring a card, and a back-up one. A bank card or credit card works almost everywhere.
• Don’t bring a wallet full of cash. There’s no bank, no ATM and no currency exchange in Longyearbyen, so foreign cash is no use, and even Norwegian kroner are accepted in only a few places.
• Phone payments work too, but don’t count on Vipps: it needs Norwegian BankID, which most visitors don’t have.
• Tell your bank you’re travelling, so a card payment from 78° north doesn’t look suspicious.