More and more people are bothering about cashless

Published 31 March 2024 at 14.01

Economics. The use of cash seems to continue to decrease – but more and more people are bothered by the fact that shops and others refuse to accept payment in cash. This is shown by a survey from the Riksbank.

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The battle for cash

• The Riksbank wants to ban cashless
• SD wants "minimum level" for cash
• SD and the government invite to talk about the future of cash
• Swedish banks not affected when Europeans empty their bank accounts
• The Riksbank wants the state to save the cash giro account

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The Riksbank's latest survey on payment habits actually shows a slight increase in the use of cash – 10 percent stated that they have paid with cash for their last purchase in a store in 2023 compared to 8 percent in 2022.

However, other data suggest that the use of cash instead continues to decline, according to the authority. A possible explanation for the increase is that private individuals in 2023 have used cash buffers that were withdrawn in connection with Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Although there are few people who pay with cash, more and more people are bothered by the fact that the use of cash is decreasing – 44 percent in 2023 compared to 36 percent in 2022 are “negatively disposed” to the disappearance of cash.

Also the share stating that they would not survive without cash as society looks today has increased compared to 2022.

“This may be an effect of increased crisis awareness as a result of the war in Ukraine. Cash's function as a backup -solution when cards and digital payment methods do not work is given as an important reason why one would not manage without cash,” writes the Riksbank in its report.

In addition, the need to be able to pay in cash is highlighted in certain situations, for example to associations, in smaller shops and at flea markets where the seller does not have a redemption agreement with a bank and where there may not even be any organization that can have a bank account with Swish. Something that is becoming increasingly difficult to access, due to the rules on so-called money laundering and terrorist financing.

Some respondents also highlight that it is easier to keep track of their finances when they use cash.

According to the Riksbank, older people find it much more difficult to manage without cash than younger people.

So far, the government has chosen a toothless line against the banks on the cash issue. It is true that the banks have been given an obligation to receive the companies' cash registers, but otherwise much is missing.

For example, the banks have no obligation to help their customers pay bills with cash. Today, that service is only available in 139 locations in the country, of which 113 are savings bank offices.

If you are not a customer of a savings bank with cash handling, you can only get help paying bills with cash at the company's ChangeGroup's 26 offices, which primarily located in southern Sweden.

The banks are also not obliged to offer solutions so that private individuals can deposit cash into an account, according to the Riksbank.

In January, the government appointed an investigation into to review the future of cash. It should be ready already in December and is led by Dennis Dioukarev, Member of Parliament and member of the finance committee for the Sweden Democrats.