Sweden almost without cash: If the toilet money is paid only by app

No change for the homeless? No problem. You can also swish at Johan in Malmö. The street magazine salesman shows the passerby a sign with his swish number. She pulls out her smartphone, opens the payment app, types in the number, transfers Johan 60 Swedish crowns - and gets the new "fact" issue. It only took a few seconds. And the homeless man always has a mobile card reader with him: "Many people have no more cash left in their pockets."

Sweden was the first European state in 1661 to print banknotes. A good three and a half centuries later, Sweden could be the first to abolish the cash. Only 19 percent of all payment transactions are settled in cash, according to the Swedish Central Bank; in Germany in 2017 there were still 74 percent. Four out of ten Swedes have not paid for bills and coins for at least a month.

AFP

Bus in Vaexjoe: Cashless payment preferred

Why should they? Many bus drivers, parking machines, public toilets and the Stockholm ABBA Museum have been taking no cash for years. Also in more and more shops, restaurants, gas stations hang signs: "Vi hanterar ej kontanter" - we do not accept cash. Hundreds of bank branches do not issue bills and coins. And in many churches is the "Kollektomat": a bell-bag machine with card reader. The value of the Swedish crowns, which are still in physical circulation, has fallen by more than half since 2007.

Cash is expensive for banks

"If you continue the current trends, the last banknote will be returned to the Reichsbank in 2030," says Deputy Governor Cecilia Skingsley. The fact that the trend is so strong is due to the fact that the state transferred responsibility for the payment infrastructure to the large private banks years ago. The credit institutions operate the ATM network, which is getting smaller and smaller. And they've also developed Swish: the mobile payment system, which is used by almost two-thirds of Swedes at least once a week.

"Many private banks would be right to stop bargaining," says Tino Sanandaji, a book author and researcher at the Stockholm School of Economics. Because cash is expensive for banks. They have to count money, bundle bills, roll coins and transport them to the branches. There ATMs have to be stocked, cash desks operated and banknotes kept. Especially in sparsely populated northern Sweden, this means high costs and low yields. How much the effort can be, shows an analysis of Morgan Stanley for the Bank of America. The US bank needs to spend around $ 5 billion a year on cash transportation, storage and management: nearly a tenth of its total cost.

Does not cash mean less crime?

With card or mobile payments, however, the financial service providers can earn money: over fees. With Swish so far only the dealers have to pay. "But once the cash is gone and the banks have a monopoly, they will also ask consumers to pay," predicts Sanandaji. And you already get the valuable customer data on top for free.

Very few Swedes are bothered by this. Data protection does not play a major role in this society. Many Swedes are tech-savvy. And they have confidence: in the state, even in the banks and the financial system. Because they have rarely been disappointed, unlike in many other European countries. Only two percent of citizens bunker more than 100,000 crowns (9500 euros) at home.

DPA

Abba founder Björn Ulvaeus

ABBA founder Björn Ulvaeus is the most prominent proponent of the "Cashless Society" since his son was robbed. Ulvaeus, who once wrote "Money, Money, Money", is convinced that no cash means fewer crimes. Bank robber, for example, is a dying business in Sweden, since many branches no longer have cash. If 110 raids were reported in 2008, there were only 5 in 2016. There is not much to fetch. In addition, the end of cash transactions would also make money laundering and terrorist financing more difficult.

Advantages of cash payment

Ironically, Sweden's former police chief stops it. "We already see a strong increase in credit card crime, in Darknet there are fake or stolen cards for the equivalent of 30 euros to buy" says Björn Eriksson. The long-time head of the Reich Police Department, 73, often pays with Swish or a card himself.

But he is also convinced: "The complete abolition of cash would be a serious mistake." So he founded Kontantupproret ("cash rebellion"), a movement that fights for the receipt of bills and coins.

"We can not just leave large groups of people behind," says Eriksson. "Older people who are struggling with the systems, refugees or residents of remote areas without an Internet connection - all would be marginalized."

Even worse, Sweden is becoming dependent on technology - and vulnerable. "If we run out of cash and something bothers the digitized system, what do we do?" Even a short-term power failure or an IT error could cause problems. And even more serious are state-controlled cyberattacks. "If someone turns off the payment systems, there is chaos."

imago / perspective

Cash Smiles: Swedish Crown Bills

Cash has advantages: it can not be easily confiscated, anyone can pay with it completely unobserved, without having to have a bank account. You can see it dwindling in the wallet when spending, does not lose the feeling as fast as plastic card or app. And it is a demand that the citizen has against the central bank. If you charge a cash card, only the commercial bank owes the amount.

Alternatively, it could be a Swedish cryptocurrency

Eriksson has won many competitors. The pensioner organization PRO collected 140,000 signatures for the rescue of cash. And even the central bank chief shares some concerns: "When the power supply collapses, electronic payments are no longer possible," says Stefan Ingves. "To be prepared for everything, we still need bills and notes that work without electricity." The state should not give up control over the payment system. The Reichsbank Commission of Parliament now demands that the commercial banks be required by law to accept and spend cash.

For its part, the central bank is considering launching a pilot project: Sweden's own cryptocurrency, the E-Krona. You could charge them on a plastic card and pay in shops easily and quickly. It would be as anonymous as cash, but its owner would have no risk of a commercial bank charging or going bankrupt. Perfect for people who do not want credit cards and payment apps.

The cash, it wants more and more politicians and business leaders, should continue to exist first. However, their citizens are less and less in the mood to use it.