2 PAYMENT METHOD PROFILES: CASH
Case Study: Sweden Sweden is widely considered one of the most cashless countries in the world. In 2020, The Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank, declared that the fall in cash in circulation “may be due to measures making cash less attractive being introduced at about the same time as Swish was emerging as a convenient alternative to cash.” 149 A 2019 report by Visa Navigate also suggests the 2004 privatization of the cash industry, union advocacy for digital payments and tax avoidance laws played a role in the rapid decline of cash in Sweden. 150 Sweden has a low level of cash 151
Cash in circulation as a percentage of GDP Sweden has a low level of cash
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
2002
2004
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
2006
2008
2010
2012
Sweden Denmark
Norway Euro Area
United Kingdom
Source: Macrobond
Figure 2.4
The Riksbank’s annual payments report shows that Sweden (along with Norway) has cash in circulation of just 1% of GDP - lower than Denmark, the UK and the Eurozone. 152 In 2018, the deputy governor predicted that Sweden would be totally cashless within 3-5 years. 153 Indeed, the Riksbank report has several datapoints to show that cash has significantly declined in recent years. ATM withdrawals have declined from 320 million in 2005 to 50 million in 2023. Only 10% of survey respondents in 2023 said their last in-store purchase was with cash, down from nearly 40% in 2010. Less than 50% of respondents said they’d paid by cash in the last 30 days, compared with more than 80% for both debit card and Swish, Sweden’s mobile payment system launched by six banks in 2012 (Figure 2.5) and around 25% for Apply Pay/ Samsung Pay etc. At the current trajectory suggested by Figure 2.5, it is possible Apple Pay and Samsung Pay will overtake cash in the next couple of years.
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