The Riksbank’s responsibility for a safe payment system

The Riksbank shall ensure that the public can make payments during peacetime crises and times of heightened alert. This responsibility is managed in close cooperation with the companies that the Riksbank has identified as particularly important for payments in Sweden. This work is conducted within the Civil Contingencies Payments (CBB) collaboration structure, which is led by the Riksbank and includes companies and the Swedish National Debt Office (Riksgälden). The Riksbank has produced regulations^[31] Riksbankens föreskrifter och allmänna råd om företag av särskild betydelse för genomförandet av betalningar under fredstida krissituationer och vid höjd beredskap (Riksbank, Swedish only). that set requirements for companies to be able to maintain their payment operations in peacetime crisis situations and heightened alert.^[32] The companies covered by the regulations are banks, companies engaged in payment applications, electronic identification, payment infrastructure and the storage, counting and transport of cash.

Offline card payments to work by middle of 2026

During the year, the Riksbank, together with a large group of market participants, reached an agreement^[33] Offline card payments should be possible no later than 1 July 2026 (Riksbank). that will make it possible to pay for essential goods by card even in the event of disruptions in data communication, so-called offline payments^[34] A description of how offline payments work can be found in Payments Report 2025 (Riksbank), pp. 31-32. . This means that essential goods such as food, medicines and fuel can be bought even when the internet is down, using physical cards and PINs. Many actors not covered by the Riksbank's regulations have chosen to contribute to the solution, which is positive for Sweden's overall civil preparedness. This is an important step in strengthening preparedness for payments. The aim is for offline payments to be operational by the middle of 2026, as highlighted by the Riksbank in the Payments Report 2025. The Riksbank will continue its work on enabling offline payments for other payment methods after 1 July 2026. You can read more about this in section “The possibility to pay offline should be extended”.

Companies that are important for payments have strengthened their crisis preparedness

In 2025, the Riksbank conducted a first round of supervision of the fulfilment of the requirements by the companies covered by the Riksbank's contingency regulations. The Riksbank then collected information from all twelve companies to obtain an overall picture of how they work with the areas in the regulations. The Riksbank limited its oversight to requirements relating to peacetime crises – that is, not requirements that apply in the event of heightened alert. The Riksbank assesses that the companies fulfil the requirements to a sufficient extent. In the 2026 oversight, the Riksbank will focus on the requirements relating to heightened alert, for example if Sweden were to be at war.

Companies are actively working to further strengthen their preparedness

The Riksbank is in favour of companies that have to comply with the Riksbank's contingency regulations actively participating in the work to be able to maintain their payment operations in times of crisis and war. This is crucial for creating the resilience required by the 2025-2030 Total Defence Bill^[35] Totalförsvaret 2025–2030 (Prop. 2024/25:34) (Government, Swedish only). and “Utgångspunkter för totalförsvaret 2025-2030" (starting points for Total Defence 2025-2030)^[36] Utgångspunkter för totalförsvaret 2025–2030. FM2025-19772:2 and MCF 2025-08877 (Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency, Swedish only). . These state that civil defence planning must be based on the possibility of Sweden being subjected to an armed attack. Sweden must also be able to cope with a war in Europe that seriously affects important societal functions for at least three months. Another conclusion is that civil defence needs to be strengthened and that efforts need to be intensified. The Riksbank's assessment is that it is a priority to continue to strengthen preparedness for payments by the general public. This means that companies need to take both individual and joint measures to strengthen resilience on the Swedish payments market. This will entail costs for companies affected by the Riksbank's contingency regulations. At the same time, the Riksbank will continue to strive, as far as possible, to ensure that the costs are proportionate in relation to the objective of total defence.

Riksbank updates regulations within civil contingency

The Riksbank is now working on updating the regulations on contingency planning, and the associated general advice, which companies that are particularly important for payments must follow. In this work, the Riksbank is analysing whether there are other companies that should be covered by the regulations and whether their requirements should be developed and specified. The Riksbank is in particular focusing on the requirements relating to heightened alert. The Riksbank's aim is that the update will make it clearer what work is required by the companies to fulfil the requirements. The new regulations and general guidelines are planned to enter into force on 1 January 2027.

Proposal for a new operational crisis management function

In a worst-case scenario, serious disruptions to key financial services could lead to a societal crisis. To counteract this, the government proposes in a bill to introduce a new function for operational crisis management in the financial sector.^[37] En ny funktion för operativ krishantering i den finansiella sektorn (Prop. 2025/26:116) (Government, Swedish only). According to the proposal, the function would be in place by 1 July 2026, and the Riksbank would be responsible for managing its activities. In addition to the Riksbank, the function will include Finansinspektionen (the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority), Riksgälden and certain companies in the financial sector. Other actors with relevant knowledge or resources could also be invited.

The Riksbank is in favour of the proposal and is looking into how such a function can be implemented. A crisis management function will make it easier to deal with serious disruptions and reduce the risk of them leading to a social crisis. The function will also help to strengthen collaboration between businesses and authorities and clarify the division of responsibilities between them.

Businesses can help increase payment system preparedness

Businesses in the retail and service sectors can help increase payment system readiness by offering multiple payment methods. This improves their own ability to receive payments even if there is a disruption in one of the payment methods. In the Riksbank's survey of small businesses' views on payments, most companies state that they offer three or more payment methods, which the Riksbank considers to be positive. Cash and Swish are the most common fallback solutions in case the regular internet connection fails. At the same time, it is worth noting that Swish currently also requires some form of internet connection.

The public can help increase payment system preparedness

The public can also contribute to the preparedness of the payment system. Because everyone has a responsibility, as far as possible, to prepare for a crisis situation. The more people who can fend for themselves, the better equipped society will be to help those who are most in need, such as the elderly or the sick. An important part of this preparation is the ability of households to make payments even when payment systems are not functioning as usual. Being able to pay in different ways increases the resilience of society and reduces vulnerability to disruptions in the payment infrastructure.

Cash plays an important role, especially in situations where digital payment solutions are not available. In the Riksbank's survey of the Swedish people's payment habits, around eight out of ten responded that they have cash at home. You can read more about how much cash you should have at home and the Riksbank's recommendations for households in section “Households should have multiple payment methods so that they can pay in the event of disruptions, for example SEK 1,000 in cash per adult”.

To help keep cash handling going under normal conditions, so that it can also function in a crisis situation or, ultimately, war, the Riksbank recommends that households regularly use cash for payments.^[38] Riksbankschefen: Använd kontanter av beredskapsskäl (Riksbank, Swedish only). It will also make it easier for households and companies to recognise genuine banknotes and coins. If households and companies are used to using cash, it will be easier to use it even in a disruption.