Sweden is on track to become the world's first cashless society, with barely 1% of the value of all payments made using coins or notes last year. The Nordic nation has seen a dramatic shift away from physical currency, driven by technological innovation, low crime rates, and high public trust in digital payment systems.
In Stockholm, signs reading 'We don't accept cash' are increasingly common. Victoria Nilsson, who manages two branches of a bakery chain, explained that going cashless reduces robbery risk and speeds up transactions. 'It's been mainly positive reactions. We love to use our cards here in Stockholm,' she said. Across Sweden, cash is used in less than 20% of in-store transactions, half the figure of five years ago, according to the Riksbank, the central bank.
Swedish innovations like iZettle, Europe's first mobile credit card reader, and Swish, a smartphone payment system used by over half the population, have made cashless payments accessible even to market traders and charity sellers. Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA is a vocal supporter after his son lost cash in a burglary. The trend has also reached public transport, where cash has been banned on buses for years, and tourist attractions such as the ABBA Museum.
Niklas Arvidsson, a professor at Stockholm's Royal Institute of Technology, attributes Sweden's cashless leap to high connectivity, a small population ideal for testing innovations, and low corruption. 'Swedes tend to trust banks, we trust institutions... people are not afraid of the sort-of 'Big Brother' issues or fraud connected to electronic payment,' he said. Paradoxically, the Riksbank's 2010 decision to update coins and banknotes, fully implemented this year, accelerated the cashless trend as retailers opted not to handle new currency.
Riksbank figures show the average value of Swedish krona in circulation fell from 106 billion kronor (£10bn) in 2009 to 65 billion (£6bn) in 2016. Prof Arvidsson predicts cash will become 'a very marginal payment form' by 2020, with Sweden aiming for a fully cashless society by 2030. A survey of nearly 800 small retailers, not yet published, is expected to confirm the trend.
