Sweden is the most cashless society on the planet, with barely 1% of the value of all payments made using coins or notes last year. So how did the Nordic nation get so far ahead of the rest of us? “We wanted to minimise the risk of robberies and it’s quicker with the customers when they pay by card,” says Victoria Nilsson, who manages two bakeries. “It’s been mainly positive reactions. We love to use our cards here in Stockholm.”
Across the country, cash is now used in less than 20% of transactions in stores – half the number five years ago, according to the Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank. Coins and banknotes have been banned on buses for several years after unions raised concerns over drivers’ safety. Even tourist attractions have started to gamble on taking plastic-only payments, including Stockholm’s Pop House Hotel and The Abba Museum. Smaller retailers are jumping on the bandwagon, too, making use of home-grown technologies such as iZettle, the Swedish start-up behind Europe’s first mobile credit card reader. Such portable technologies have enabled market traders – and even homeless people promoting charity magazines – to take card payments easily.
Swish, a smartphone payment system, is another popular Swedish innovation used by more than half the country’s 10 million strong population. Backed by the major banks, it allows customers to send money securely to anyone else with the app, just by using their mobile number. A staple at flea markets and school fetes, it’s also a popular way to transfer money instantly between friends.
Somewhat paradoxically, Sweden’s decision to update its coins and banknotes actually boosted cashless transactions. Some retailers thought it was easier not to accept these new forms of cash because there’s learning to be done. Plus the cashless idea is increasingly socially acceptable. Riksbank figures show that the average value of Swedish krona in circulation fell from around 106 billion (£10bn) in 2009 to 65 billion (£6bn) in 2016. Barely 1% of the value of all payments was made using coins or notes last year, compared to around 7% across the EU and in the US.
Retailers seem to agree. Two thirds of them said they anticipated phasing out cash payments completely by 2030. But concerns that a cashless system could be manipulated to cut off some people leaving them helpless have prophetic overtones. While most Swedes have embraced the nation’s cash-free innovations, two thirds don’t want to get rid of notes and coins completely because of a strong emotional attachment to cash.
Sweden may be leading the global trend towards a cashless future, but its tech-savvy population also appears to be guided by another, more traditional Swedish trait: caution.
Revelation 13:17 tells us that those who are loyal to Christ and refuse to obey worship laws will be prevented from buying or selling. A cashless society would make that very easy. “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”
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