[Vipps] Can tourists use Vipps in Norway? What are the alternatives if you don’t have Norwegian ID?

Short answer: most tourists cannot use Vipps as a regular user.

Vipps is designed for residents with Norwegian banking/ID setup. To use Vipps, you typically need things like:
• BankID
• A Norwegian national ID number (or D-number in some cases, if your bank supports it)
• A Norwegian phone number
• A Norwegian bank account and a Norwegian bank card
• A registered address in the population register

So if you’re visiting Norway short-term, assume Vipps will NOT be available to you.

What to do instead (tourist-friendly options):
• Pay by debit/credit card (most places accept cards).
• Use Apple Pay / Google Pay if your card supports it.
• Carry a small amount of cash for edge cases, but you’ll often not need much.

If a place says “Vipps only”:
• Ask if they can accept card as an alternative, or if there is another payment method (sometimes there is).

Official sources (add links):
• [Vipps MobilePay Help – “What do I need to use Vipps?”]
• [Vipps – Terms & conditions / requirements for private users]

As a visitor, I learned the hard way that **VIPPS IS BASICALLY A LOCAL CLUB AND TOURISTS ARE NOT ON THE LIST**. From what I’ve seen, if you don’t have Norwegian ID and a local bank setup, Vipps just isn’t happening, no matter how many apps you download. The good news is that Norway is incredibly card-friendly, so Apple Pay and regular debit cards covered me in almost every situation. but there’s a nuance… those “Vipps only” moments do pop up at small events, flea markets, or casual food stalls, and that’s when you feel very non-local very fast. In those cases, asking politely often helped, or I just moved on, which is easier than arguing over payment systems. Cash felt almost useless most of the time, but I still carried a little for peace of mind. Did anyone manage to use Vipps as a tourist through some workaround, or is it truly residents-only? And where did you run into “Vipps only” signs the most?

Yeah, this matches my experience almost perfectly — Vipps is fantastic *if* you’re Norwegian, and basically a brick wall if you’re not. I remember standing at a small food stall thinking “it’s 2024, surely there’s a backup,” and nope: Vipps-only sign, full stop. That said, Norway earns huge points for card culture — Apple Pay, contactless cards, even tiny cafés were flawless, so Vipps never actually blocked my trip, just annoyed me briefly. My workaround was simple: assume cards everywhere, avoid flea markets or school fundraisers unless I had a local friend, and move on without drama. Did you consider rerouting plans toward places that clearly accept cards when you saw “Vipps only,” or did you try hunting down cash as a backup?