Geopolitical developments are affecting the financial sector and have increased the focus on protecting the payments system against disruptions and external threats. They have also led countries and regions to consider how they can reduce their dependence on foreign services and systems.

At the same time, the digitalisation of the payments market is continuing – both in Sweden and abroad. The pace of innovation is high, especially among payment market challengers, and the range of services is increasing, which can make the payments market more efficient. In addition, new forms of money and other assets have started to take shape alongside the traditional ones. However, new and faster payment services also bring new risks of fraud and other crime.

In Sweden, the payments market is almost entirely digital. The use of cash and other manual payment methods has been declining for a long time, in favour of cards and mobile payments. This indicates that we in Sweden have a high level of trust in digital systems. But it also leaves us vulnerable to cyber-attacks and disruptions to the electricity grid and data communications.

For the vast majority of people, digitalisation has made it faster and easier to pay. However, some groups in society cannot or are not allowed to use digital payment services, and thus cannot take part in this development.

The ability of everyone in society to pay is a prerequisite for a functioning payments market and for people to participate fully in society. It also needs to be safe and have a high level of protection against both disruption and crime. But the payments market also needs to continue to develop so that new payment services benefit more people. Below follows a summary of the measures that the Riksbank considers most important to take to ensure that everyone can pay, to make the payment market even safer and more resilient and to ensure that it continues to develop with more payment alternatives.