Sweden: On the Road to 'Cashless' Society

14 october 2014

4 out of 5 purchases in Sweden are done by wire transfer or debit card. The cheaper technologies develop, the faster the country moves to 'cashless' society.

'Sweden and other Scandinavian countries are top in e-commerce', said Bengt Nilervall of the Swedish Federation of Trade.

The Swedes use their debit/credit cards almost daily, with an average of 260 transactions per capita per year. The landscape is quite different in southern Europe. For example, in Italy, 3/4 of individual purchases are still paid in cash.

According to Associate Professor Niklas Arvidsson, the situation is explained with public distrust in authorities and banking. Arvidsson argues Sweden may gradually push cash away, unlikely before 2030 though. This process may face the public habit to carry cash.

A recent survey by SIFO (a Swedish public opinion company) shows that 2/3 of the respondents regard cash usability as a normal human right. So, despite developing cashless payment means, the Swedish government announced issuing a new banknote series in 2015.

Source: The Local

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