More and more people have cash in their wallets

Published 17 May 2024 at 11.47

Economy. Just over four out of ten Swedes, 44 percent, carry cash in their wallet. This is an increase of seven percentage points compared to 2021. This is according to a new survey carried out by Verian on behalf of Bankomat.

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In 2021, 37 percent of Swedes answered that they carry cash with them. The corresponding figure was 40 percent in 2022 and 43 percent in 2023.

In this year's survey, 44 percent answered yes to the question.

Between 2021 and 2023, the percentage of Swedes who carry cash with them increased in all age groups. In this year's survey, the proportion only increases in the oldest group.

– Despite the fact that the use of cash is steadily decreasing, we see a continuous rise in the proportion of Swedes who carry cash with them. The development cannot be explained solely by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as we saw a clear increase even before that. The fact that we have an aging population is not the whole explanation either, as we have seen an increase in younger age groups as well, says Johan Nilsson, marketing manager at Bankomat, in a press release.

In January this year, Minister of Financial Markets Niklas Wykman appointed (M) an inquiry into the possibility of paying by cash. The investigator Dennis Dioukarev (SD) is also free to propose more measures to strengthen cash management in society and must report the results of the assignment no later than December 31, 2024.

– Today it is difficult for the people who want to use cash to do it. Many shops no longer accept cash and there are almost no possibilities to pay bills over the counter. The reason is that there is weak commercial viability for private companies to offer such services. Therefore, the state now needs to take financial responsibility for the socially important cash handling, says Johan Nilsson.