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Few countries have transferred cash in cash as fast as Sweden. In fact, the money is being eliminated so quickly – half of the country's merchants expect it will stop accepting banknotes before 2025 – that the government had to recalculate the social costs of a future without money.
Financial authorities that have already adopted this trend have now asked banks to sell banknotes and coins until the government determines the consequences for young and old consumers of not having cash. The central bank predicts that liquidity will disappear from Sweden and tested a digital currency – e-krona or electronic crown – in order to maintain firm control over the money supply. Legislators are looking at what will happen to online payments and bank accounts if a power grid goes down or servers are hampered by power outages, hackers or even a war.
"In the current situation, this would not be the case, we must do nothing more to see at a distance that the money has disappeared," said Stefan Ingves, governor of the Swedish central bank, known under the name of Riksbank. "You can not go back in time, but you have to find a way to deal with the change."
Stefan Ingves is head of Riksbank, Sweden's central bank. Loulou's Aki Credit for the New York Times
If you ask most Swedes how often they pay in cash, the answer is: "Almost never." One-fifth of the population in a country of ten million people no longer uses ATMs. More than four thousand Swedes have in their hands a chip to pay for their travel by train and food or to go to offices without a key. For restaurants, buses, car parks and even pay toilets, keys are used much more than coins.
Some consumer groups claim that this change is biased against many retirees – one-third of Swedes. he is 55 or older, as well as some immigrants and people with disabilities. They can not easily access electronic means to buy certain goods or make transactions. They depend on banks and their customer services.
"About a million people do not feel comfortable with a computer, an iPad or an iPhone for their banking business," said Christina Tallberg, 75, president of the National Organization Swedish pensions. "We are not against the digital movement, we only think that it has progressed too quickly."
In addition, progress towards a society that does not use cash could affect the role of guarantor that the state has been playing for centuries: commercial banks would exercise greater control.
"We have to stop and think whether it's good or bad and not let it go by without doing anything," said Mats Dillén, director of the parliamentary committee studying the issue.
Consumers in cities around the world are paying more and more with apps or plastics. In China and other Asian countries with many young phone users, mobile payments are common. In Europe, one in five people say that they almost never bring money. In Belgium, Denmark and Norway, the use of credit or debit cards has reached a record.
However, Sweden – and especially its young population – is at the forefront. Banknotes and coins represent only 1% of the economy, compared to 10% in Europe and 8% in the United States. Nearly one in ten consumers paid something in cash this year, in contrast to the 40% who made it in 2010. Most Swedish merchants still accept tickets and coins, but they receive less and less.
The figures are surprising: these Swedes make up to 95% of their purchases with a debit card or a smartphone app called Swish, a payment system created by the largest Swedish banks. [19659002] At the Ikea store in Gavle, north of Stockholm, payments are now only digital. Aki Loulou's Credit for the New York Times
Ikea, whose furniture is widespread among young people, experienced the effect of trade without cash. In their Gavle store, company executives decided to no longer receive these payments in October, after realizing that less than 1% of buyers were using money and that Ikea employees spent nearly 15% of their employees. He received, counted, and saved notes or coins.
Banks encouraged consumers and merchants not to use cash, including credit and debit cards, generating lucrative profits for banks and card companies. . This includes the Swish app.
Swedish banks reduced their cash handling, partly for security reasons, following a series of violent thefts committed in the mid-2000s. Last year, only two banks they were badaulted, unlike 210 of 2008.
Even kiosks accept card payments more than cash. In Sweden, half of retailers believe they will not accept any cash payments by 2025. Aki Loulou credit for New York Times
Swedish authorities have two proposals to keep cash within their reach. Parliament wants only the biggest banks to handle cash, while the central bank insists that all banks maintain the circulation of money. Swedbank, SEB and other major Swedish financial institutions are fighting lawmakers' claims, saying that better access would impose an undue burden on them.
"The demand for liquidity is gradually decreasing more quickly," said Leif Trogen, an official with the Swedish Bankers Association. "Therefore, it is totally inappropriate to legislate to influence the demand for money."
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