Sweden runs out of cash

Technological advances have reached the traditional banking system to transform the way users perform various transactions. Each time fewer people go to a physical agency to pay for services or make deposits. The trend is called cashless society.

It means a society without cash, an increasingly tangible reality in countries like Sweden, where there has been an alarm in the banking sector just because of the marked shortage of coins and bills.

The largest banks in Sweden issued a warning, arguing that “the country may be running out of cash.” However, analysts say these are exaggerated opinions, although they recognize that various branches do not offer cash yet. A relief for the population is that  ATMs still have cash.

In the Nordic country, a large percentage of shops do not accept cash. The advance of the Swedish financial system towards digitalization could become a headache due to digital payments and those made through credit cards. Another problem is that many elderly people are not banked.

Stefan Ingves, governor of the Riksbank, “has asked for legal changes to safeguard the structure of Sweden’s payment system,” according to the media. For his part, Hans Lindberg, executive director of the Swedish Association of Bankers, has stressed the need to respect the desire of people who want to continue using cash.

M.Pino

Source: El Economista