The cash chain is maintained in a private– public cooperation

The cash chain includes deposits and withdrawals, transport, sorting, counting and storage of cash. The chain begins and ends with the Riksbank, which issues and redeems cash. In between, it is mainly private actors such as banks, the bank-owned company Bankomat AB and the cash-in-transit company Loomis Sverige AB (Loomis) that handle cash, see Illustration 2.

Illustration 2. The cash chain

Disruptions at Bankomat have reduced access to cash in the country

For several years, Loomis was the only cash-in-transit company handling cash in Sweden,^[51] In 2020, Loomis acquired Nokas Värdehantering AB, which previously provided similar services to Loomis. See, for example, Payments Report 2021 (Riksbank), pp. 25-27. and Bankomat used Loomis to, for example, load and unload ATMs. However, in mid-2025, Bankomat started its own cash-in-transit business, taking over these tasks from Loomis. This initially caused major problems for Bankomat. Between May and September, up to 30 per cent of Bankomat’s ATMs and deposit machines were out of service at certain times.^[52] Bankomat's closed ATMs (Riksbank) and Information om tidigare problemInformation om tidigare problem (Bankomat, Swedish only), retrieved on 08-12-2025. But according to Post- och Telestyrelsen (Post and Telecom Agency), which supervises that banks are providing the cash services they are obliged to^[53] According to section 13 of Förordning (2010:1008) om betaltjänster, the proportion of the population with a distance of more than 25 kilometres between their registered address and the nearest cash withdrawal point may not exceed 0.3 per cent, and 1.22 per cent for overnight cash deposits. The requirements apply at national level, so there may be less coverage at regional or local level. , the banks still managed to ensure that people could withdraw cash within the distance required by law – a maximum of 25 kilometres for 99.7 per cent of the population. However, Post- och Telestyrelsen observed that the banks did not meet the target of offering enough places to deposit daily takings in July 2025. The case was handed over to Finansinspektionen, which however wrote off the case as there was no shortage of deposit locations for daily takings nationally either at the time of the handover or the day after the incident.^[54] Finansinspektionen's registration number 25-22379.

According to Länsstyrelsen i Dalarnas län (the Dalarna County Administrative Board), which monitors access to basic payment services, Bankomat's problems led to some counties having only one or a few ATMs in operation. Länsstyrelsen considers that the national target for withdrawal points could instead be largely maintained by counting ICA supermarkets as withdrawal points in the statistics on cash services. In December 2025, ICA supermarkets accounted for just under 41 per cent of withdrawal points in Sweden that banks count towards meeting their obligation under the legal requirements.^[55] Bevakning av grundläggande betaltjänster 2025 (Länsstyrelsen i Dalarnas län, Swedish only), pp. 12-13. Statistics for cash withdrawal sites are taken from Tillväxtverket Pipos Serviceanalys 19-02-2026. However, the withdrawal options in shops have limitations. For example, you can only withdraw cash if you are a customer of ICA Banken or Swedbank and only if the shop considers itself to have enough cash in the till.^[56] Kan jag sätta in och ta ut pengar i ICAs kassa? (ICA Banken, Swedish only), retrieved 19-02-2026. None of the other banks subject to the legal requirements have agreements allowing cash withdrawals in ICA stores. The fact that ICA supermarkets are considered as fully-fledged ATMs thus means that a large proportion of ATMs are in practice not accessible to most bank customers in the country. This has been criticised by, among others, Länsstyrelsen i Dalarnas län.^[57] Bevakning av grundläggande betaltjänster 2025Bevakning av grundläggande betaltjänster 2025 (Länsstyrelsen i Dalarnas län, Swedish only) pp. 12-13.

Post- och Telestyrelsen also noted that the regulatory framework is not fully appropriate to meet all the needs of cash services in society in a report from June 2025.^[58] Återrapportering av PTS tillsyn av kontanttjänster (Post- och Telestyrelsen, Swedish only), p. 6.

Remaining problems with the regulations on access to cash for all

The Riksbank assesses that the regulations for access to cash also have certain weaknesses in other respects. Firstly, one or a few cash points may be sufficient to fulfil the targets in larger cities. According to Post- och Telestyrelsen’s calculations, 838 ATMs in Sweden's three largest cities could be phased out, and the banks would still meet the requirements of the regulations.^[59] Återrapportering av PTS tillsyn av kontanttjänster (Post- och Telestyrelsen, Swedish only) p. 29. However, this would have a significant impact on the capacity of the cash chain, for example in the event of major disruptions. Therefore, if the number of cash points in densely populated parts of the country decreases, the rules may need to be changed. Secondly, large but sparsely populated parts of the country may be left without cash services even if the accessibility target is achieved nationally. Länsstyrelsen i Dalarnas län, for example, notes that 80 per cent of the 0.3 per cent exempted from the target of having a maximum of 25 kilometres to a cash withdrawal point are in four northern counties. This, according to the county administrative board, is problematic from an equivalence perspective.^[60] Bevakning av grundläggande betaltjänster 2024 (Länsstyrelsen i Dalarnas län, Swedish only), p. 20. At the same time, these particular counties have benefited from the current rules because the number of locations for cash withdrawals or overnight deposits has decreased less there than in the rest of the country, and in some cases even increased.^[61] Tillväxtverket Pipos Serviceanalys, retrieved 14-01-2026.  

A further problem, which the Riksbank has highlighted in, for example, the Payments Report 2025, is that cash deposit machines work poorly for depositing daily takings. They have limits of around SEK 500-1,000 per day and do not accept coins, but they are nevertheless recognised as adequate locations for depositing daily takings under the regulations.^[62] See Lag (2010:751) om betaltjänster, Förordning (2010:1008) om betaltjänster and PTSFS 2020:4. This is not enough for many businesses that accept cash. They also cannot withdraw smaller denominations of banknotes or coins from ATMs, which is needed for till money.^[63] Payments Report 2025 (Riksbank), pp. 32-33.

The government's legislative proposal addresses some of the problems

In the referral from the Council on Legislation “Åtgärder för att stärka kontanternas funktionssätt” (Measures to strengthen the functioning of cash) from December 2025, the Government submits a number of legislative proposals based on the Cash Inquiry, which was conducted by the Ministry of Finance in 2024.^[64] Åtgärder för att stärka kontanternas funktionssätt (Government, Swedish only). First, the Government proposes that the major banks should be obliged to provide customised services to businesses for till money and daily takings. Another proposal is that private individuals should have access to deposit services according to the same proximity principle as companies currently have for depositing daily takings, i.e. only a small proportion of the population, 1.22 per cent, may have a distance of more than 25 kilometres to the nearest deposit point. Finally, the Government proposes introducing an obligation for grocery stores and pharmacies to accept cash, with some exceptions.

The Riksbank is in favour of the proposals in the referral from the Council on Legislation and assesses that they will contribute to a more sustainable cash chain. However, the Riksbank considers that the Government and the Riksdag should consider also making manned petrol stations obliged to accept cash. This is important from a preparedness perspective, as fuels can play an important role in, for example, essential transport in peacetime crises and in a state of heightened alert. Today, all major petrol chains with manned stations already accept cash, which means that their costs would be low if the Government introduced such a requirement.^[65] See The Riksbank's consultation response to the Cash Inquiry (Riksbank).

The Government should also consider how banks’ obligation to provide withdrawal points should be organised, including what the requirements for withdrawal points should be. You can read more about this in section “Access to cash services needs to be improved”.

The Riksbank has strengthened the cash supply

During 2025 and early 2026, the Riksbank has continued to strengthen the cash supply by opening two new cash management offices in Malmö and Sundsvall. The offices can be used by companies that have an agreement with the Riksbank for the collection and return of banknotes. Currently, only Bankomat and Loomis have such an agreement.^[66] You can read more about the Riksbank's cash management offices at Cash management offices (Riksbank), retrieved 19-02-2026. In 2025, the Riksbank has also offered these two companies the possibility to store, collect and hand in banknotes and coins owned by the Riksbank at their own premises to further streamline cash handling. In this way, they can reduce their costs for both transport to and from the Riksbank and for cash handling. At the same time, it helps to ensure that cash is available in more places across the country.