In the 2023 survey, half of the respondents said they had wanted to pay in cash but the store did not accept it. The corresponding figure in 2022 was 37 per cent. One explanation for the increase could be that more people have tried to use cash to get rid of the cash buffers built up in the context of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but it is also possible that more stores have stopped accepting cash.

There are no comprehensive statistics on how many stores accept cash. The Swedish Trade Federation carries out surveys among its members, which recently showed that almost nine out of ten merchants accept cash and that the acceptance of cash in the non-durable goods segment, mainly grocery stores, is slightly higher than in the durable goods segment. However, many stores, such as pharmacies, are not members of the Swedish Trade Federation. Restaurants, hairdressers and public transport are not included in the Swedish Trade Federation’s figures either. To obtain a more comprehensive picture of the extent to which cash is accepted by business operators in Sweden, the Riksbank intends to investigate this on a regular basis in the future.