We make cross-border payments when we pay by card abroad or when we buy goods and services online from abroad. Transfers abroad via banks and other payment service providers are also cross-border payments. Such transfers may involve, for example, taxes, fees, school fees or gifts (see FACTS - How a cross-border payment works).

In the Riksbank’s 2022 survey, there were several questions about transfers from private individuals in Sweden to private individuals abroad. In the survey, around 10 per cent responded that they send money to other private individuals abroad every year. Small amounts (less than SEK 2,000) are the most common; see Figure 12.

Response to the survey question: "If you have sent money abroad, how much did you send on the last occasion? ", percentages.

Figure: Mainly smaller amounts sent from Sweden

According to the survey responses, money is sent to individuals all around the world, but above all to people in Europe. A good 60 per cent sent money to another European country the last time they sent money. Among the European countries, Germany is the most common destination, followed by the United Kingdom, Norway and Spain. The individual country to which Swedes send money most often is the United States. After the United States, Thailand is the most common non-European country to which people send money; see Figure 13.

Figure 13. Most common to transfer money to European countries and the United States Response to the survey question “If you have sent money abroad, to which country did you send money on the last occasion?”, percentages.