Last week, the Governor of the Riksbank stated Erik Thedéen that the financial system must strengthen its preparedness and he further urged the Swedish people to make sure they have cash, in smaller denominations, at home in order to be well prepared in the event of a possible crisis where digital payment services are shut down.
At the same time, in recent years, it has been discussed whether we are approaching a cashless society, when fewer and fewer people pay with cash.
The expert: Then the cash can disappear in Sweden
Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT
So many ATMs have disappeared in 10 years: “Will decrease”
Fewer cash payments profitable for the banks
For the banks, it is beneficial that cash payments decrease, says Niklas Arvidssonprofessor of industrial economics and organization at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.
– Cash has lots of costs for the banks, but really no direct income. Card payments have much lower costs for transactions and real income in the form of, for example, transaction fees and the like, he says to News24.
MSB: This is how much cash you should have at home
Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT The groups that suffer when the cash disappears
But who is actually negatively affected if the cash disappears from Swedish society?
– Those who today depend on cash, which is above all the elderly, people with various disabilities who find it difficult to use mobile phones or other digital services. Then there are immigrants or new arrivals who do not have a bank account, notes Niklas Arvidsson and continues further:
– In addition, some small business owners in regions where neither the internet nor the telecom systems are reliable are affected because cards and Swish may not work.
Cash at home? Then you MUST do this: “Important”