Offline payments

Card payments are the most common way to pay in shops, so it is important that card payments work even in the event of disruptions in data communication, i.e. offline. Together with representatives from the payments market, the Riksbank has reached an agreement to enable card payments to be made even in the event of disruptions in data communication, lasting up to seven days. The payments covered are purchases of essential goods in physical trade, such as food, medicine and fuel, and this applies to all cardholders over the age of 18 with cards issued by the banks covered by the Riksbank's regulations.

This functionality is estimated to be in place no later than 1 July 2026. The Riksbank will continue its work on enabling offline payments for other payment methods after 1 July 2026. 

How offline payments work

1. A card payment usually involves four actors: the cardholder (customer), the payment recipient (merchant), the card acquirer and the card issuer. If there is a disruption – for example, the internet is down – operators cannot carry out their usual checks. Then the payment needs to be made offline.
2. In an offline mode, the customer has to insert the card’s chip into the terminal and enter the PIN. If the card has an offline function, the chip can authorise the purchase itself without contacting the acquirer or card issuer, up to a certain amount
3. Once the payment has been authorised and executed offline, it is saved in the terminal.
4. Once the connection is working again, offline transactions are sent to the acquirer. The acquirer pays out money to the merchant, the card issuer deducts money from the customer’s account and pays the acquirer.