Authorities in Sweden and Norway are encouraging the public to keep and use cash, as they prepare for possible future confrontation with Russia. Both countries have previously sought to phase out cash transactions, as they embraced technology.
Sweden, in particular, has been at the forefront of pioneering non-cash payment methods using phone apps. A former deputy governor of the country’s Central Bank predicted in 2018 that Sweden would probably be cashless by 2025. Today, just one in 10 purchases are made with cash, with card transactions the most popular form of payment.
Swish – a mobile payment system launched in 2012 – is the second most popular choice for shoppers.
Data provided by the Central Bank shows that Sweden and Norway have the lowest amount of cash in circulation, as a percentage of GDP, in the world.
Yet as Russia steps up its hybrid attacks on Western countries, targeting financial systems and critical infrastructure, cash is once again coming back into vogue.
Sweden’s government is encouraging its citizens to keep and use cash in the name of civil defence.
The Defence Ministry sent every household a brochure entitled If Crisis or War Comes in November last year.
The brochure advised people to use cash regularly and keep a minimum of a week’s supply in various denominations to “strengthen preparedness”.
The Central Bank also weighed in on the topic, writing in a report: “Measures need to be taken to strengthen preparedness and reduce exclusion so that everyone can pay, even in the event of crisis or war.”
Moreover, an inquiry set up by Sweden’s government recommended that some public and private agents should be required to accept cash.
Norway has already taken steps to reduce its reliance on electronic and card payments, as it prepares for potential Russian cyber attacks.
Last year, the government enacted legislation requiring retailers to accept cash payments or face being fined.
Norway has also urged its citizens to “keep some cash on hand due to the vulnerabilities of digital payment solutions to cyber-attacks”.
The former justice and emergencies minister Emilie Mehl put it in stark terms: “If no one pays with cash and no one accepts cash, cash will no longer be a real emergency solution once the crisis is upon us.”