Payments in Sweden 2020

Cash free – not problem-free

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Without cash, vulnerability to interruptions in the electricity network and Internet increases

Published: 29 October 2020

As long as most people have cash in their wallets, there is a good back-up alternative in the event of technical problems with electricity or the Internet, for example. When fewer people have cash available, problems like this can have more serious consequences. ATMs also require electricity and an Internet connection to function, so the presence of an ATM in such a circumstance would not be enough. Over half of the population report that they have encountered technical problems when paying in a shop, and 59 per cent say that this concerned card payments.