Published 26 April 2024 at 12.23
Economics. Almost every second Swede, 47 percent, has cash at home for emergency purposes. Of these, 11 percentage points have only started having cash at home after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This is according to a new survey conducted by Verian on behalf of Bankomat.
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TwittraShare< p>– It is clear that the world events of recent years have increased Swedes' awareness of the importance of cash for society's crisis preparedness. They understand the importance of having alternative ways to pay if the digital payment systems were to be phased out, says Johan Nilsson, marketing manager at Bankomat AB.
In the survey, participants were asked if they have cash at home for emergency purposes. A total of 47 percent answered that they have cash at home, of which 36 percentage points indicated that they had cash at home already before Russia's invasion of Ukraine and 11 percentage points that they have started having cash at home only after the invasion. 51 percent of respondents stated that they do not have cash at home for emergency purposes.
There are big differences between different counties. Norrbotten tops the list, where a whopping 56 percent of residents have cash at home for emergency purposes. At the bottom of the list is Uppsala county, where the corresponding figure is 40 percent.
The authority for social security and preparedness (MSB) urges everyone to have approximately 2,000 kroner in cash at home for preparedness purposes. According to MSB, it is good to have small denominations, so that you can make smaller purchases even if there is no change.
– Many shops today do not accept cash, as handling has become both more expensive and more complicated. But forcing merchants who are already struggling with their profitability to handle cash is not the way to go. Instead, trade should take social responsibility through self-regulation, while the state should introduce incentives that make it more attractive to handle cash, says Johan Nilsson.
In January this year, Minister of Financial Markets Niklas Wykman (M) announced that an investigation would be set up into the option to pay with cash. Investigator Dennis Dioukarev (SD) is also free to propose more measures to strengthen cash handling in society and must report the results of the assignment on 31 December 2024.