Icelandic króna and creditcard use
General information
The monetary unit of Iceland is the króna (ISK). As a method of payment, Icelanders use almost exclusively credit and debit cards, thus both types of cards are accepted in most shops. Foreign currencies are very rarely accepted in Iceland. We have a 4 number pin code system, most operators are using a chip confirmation so a pin is neccessary.
The Icelandic króna
The krona has coin denominations of 1 kr, 5 kr, 10 kr, 50 kr and 100 kr and notes in denominations of 500 kr, 1.000 kr, 5.000 kr and 10.000 kr. All major currencies can be exchanged at the airport or at the banks. Opening hours are usually from 9:00-16:00 and closed during the weekends. There are ATM machines all around the country which can be used to withdraw money.
History
The word krona, meaning „crown“ is related to those of other Nordic currencies, such as the Danish krone, Swedish krona and Norwegian krone. The history of Icelandic currency dates back to 1885 when Iceland began issuing its own banknotes, before that Danish currency was used in Iceland. The first krona coins were issued in 1922 after the dissolution of the Scandinavian Monetary Union. Central Bank of Iceland - Exchange rate.