In recent years, the Riksdag has taken several decisions aimed at facilitating the use of and securing access to cash. Among other things, the Riksbank has been given clearer responsibility for the cash infrastructure. Some banks are now obliged to offer cash withdrawal points where companies and associations across the country can deposit their daily takings. The banks fulfil this obligation mainly through the company Bankomat AB. This is a positive step forward, but not enough to ensure that cash can be used in normal circumstances as well as in a crisis situation or state of heightened alert.

To ensure that cash can be used in practice, the Riksbank considers that more measures are needed. If the Government and the Riksdag wait to introduce more of the measures proposed by the Riksbank, we risk further impairing the possibility of using cash so that it becomes almost unusable as a means of payment in the longer term. By acting quickly, we can slow down this trend.

Introduce legislation to protect the possibility to pay with cash

Cash is needed to enable everyone to pay and to provide an additional means of payment in the event of crisis or war. The Riksbank therefore considers that there should be a general obligation for merchants to accept cash for purchases of essential goods and services such as food, pharmaceuticals and fuel. New legislation is urgently needed to require merchants to accept cash for these types of goods. In a consultation response to the Payments Inquiry, the Riksbank has submitted a proposal for a legislative text to the Government, which will hopefully speed up the political process to strengthen the position of cash. The Riksbank is therefore in favour of the Government setting up an inquiry into the possibility of paying for essential goods in cash. The inquiry started in February and will report by 31 December this year.

Introduce an obligation for banks to accept consumers’ deposits

For cash to be useful, it needs to be easy to withdraw it from and deposit it into an account. Currently, there is no requirement for banks to offer deposit facilities to private persons, which means that such facilities risk deteriorating further if nothing is done. The Riksbank therefore considers that the banks’ obligation to provide cash services needs to be extended to cover private persons’ deposits, including coins. In the consultation response to the Payments Inquiry, the Riksbank has submitted a proposal for a legislative text to the Government, which will hopefully speed up the political process of introducing an obligation for banks to accept consumer deposits.

Amount limits for daily takings deposits need to be at a reasonable level

Increasingly, deposit machines are the only places where companies and associations can deposit daily takings, and there are indications that companies feel that the maximum amount for deposits in these machines is low. You can read more about this in the Section Are payments in Sweden efficient?. In order not to make it more expensive and more difficult for companies and associations to accept cash, banks should set individual limits that are reasonable in relation to the cash income of the company or association. Companies and associations must also be able to deposit coins into an account. If nothing is done, even more of them may stop accepting cash.

The cash infrastructure must be secured

The cash infrastructure is vulnerable, as explained in Section Are payments in Sweden safe?. This applies above all to the part of the infrastructure currently maintained by Loomis Sverige AB, in particular the transport of cash to and from individual companies. The Riksbank considers that the Government should give The inquiry into the possibility of paying for essential goods with cash an extended remit. The Inquiry Chair should make proposals to clarify the division of responsibilities between banks and the public sector, including how cash-in-transit services to and from stores is to be maintained and financed when cash is used less frequently and it is therefore more difficult to offer such services on a commercial basis.