Percentage of each age group needing help to pay bills at an online bank.

The digitalisation of the payment market is progressing rapidly and today almost all payments are made digitally. But not everyone has switched to digital payment methods. Some because they do not want to, others because they cannot.

We do not know how many people cannot use digital payment methods. But the Swedish Internet Foundation’s survey ”The Swedes and the Internet” gives some indications. In the survey, more than 15 per cent of respondents aged 66–75 said they could not pay bills themselves using an online bank. In the oldest age group, even more people need help; see Figure 10. The large number of people in the 16–25 age group who need help is probably due to the fact that many live with their parents and do not handle household bills themselves. This is therefore more of a temporary problem that will be resolved when the group reaches adulthood. However, a more permanent problem exists for asylum seekers whose only identity document is an LMA card from the Swedish Migration Agency and for people who have been refused a bank account for some reason and are therefore unable to pay bills digitally (see Lack of access to basic payment services and Lack of access to a payment account).

Both society at large and private actors in the payments market have a responsibility to help people who, for various reasons, cannot use digital means of payment. It is important, for instance, that help and tools are readily available to facilitate digital payments. One such tool is Payment Help. This is a private initiative with the aim of including everyone in the digital economy, regardless of circumstances and age.