The cash issue has been a growing issue in society for several years. Many believe that there should be a requirement for companies to accept cash, others believe that it is an outdated payment method.
In line with the preparedness Sweden is building due to the troubled global situation, a strong voice has been raised again to ensure that cash can be used in society’s most important functions.
The Riksbank has once again reiterated the importance of strengthening cash handling in Sweden in order to strengthen preparedness, which has been tightened in several other ways recently.
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“Cash is important”
In an interview with Swedish Radio explains the first deputy governor of the Riksbank, Anna Bremenbecause they think that cash is such an important means of payment for preparedness as the digital solutions that rule today are also dependent on other functions.
– It is important to have cash for preparedness because we have many digital payment systems in Sweden and they work well, but we are dependent both on electricity and the internet working to be able to pay with digital systems.
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Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TTSvensk handel demands compensation
Today, however, there is no requirement for traders to accept cash, and this is where the Riksbank wants to see a change in the law. They want there to be an obligation to accept cash for those who sell essential goods such as food, medicine and fuel. They also want the companies themselves to bear the cost of handling cash.
Exceptions can possibly be made for very small companies, but the big chains should accept cash to maintain the function and strengthen preparedness, says Breman to SR.
The industry organization Swedish Trade, however, does not consider the proposal to be good as presented. Cash is the most expensive means of payment to handle and they therefore believe that companies should receive some form of subsidy if they are to handle it.
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Today, fewer and fewer people pay for goods and services with cash in Swedish society.
In the Chamber of Commerce research report from 2018, it was stated that 24 March 2023 would be the date when it is no longer financially justified “for an average Swedish merchant” to accept cash.
This is how the use of different means of payment looked like in 2023, according to The Riksbank:
Source: Riksbank & Trade Council
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Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT
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The Riksbank: We want to see a cash requirement
News24 have spoken to the Riksbank’s press spokesperson Susanne Meyer to review how relevant it is with a requirement to handle cash in Sweden. According to her, it is very much something that should be introduced.
– The Riksbank believes that there is a need for greater access to services for the submission of daily cash registers as well as access to exchange at reasonable costs for companies. The Riksbank believes that companies that provide trade in essential goods should have a requirement to accept cash payment, she says.
What is the background to why the Riksbank wants to see a cash requirement?
– Payments generally work very well in Sweden. The majority of Sweden’s population can make their purchases with cards or other digital means. However, there are still a number of people who are outside the payment system. It is important that all people have the opportunity to make payments, she emphasizes.
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Cash important in preparedness
From the Riksbank’s side, it is considered that cash continues to have an important social role to play, in addition to the important role it has for preparedness purposes in the event of, for example, a serious crisis or a situation with heightened preparedness, says Meyer.
But how a possible legislation to introduce requirements for cash handling vis-à-vis companies is difficult to say. However, the Riksbank considers that it has submitted perfectly good proposals for the relevant authority’s ongoing investigation.
– Exactly how legislation is designed naturally needs to be prepared. However, the Riksbank has submitted real legislative proposals to the Ministry of Finance’s investigation into the usefulness of cash, she concludes by telling Nyheter24.
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