In a survey to nine Swedish banks, SVT has asked questions about how they view trading in cryptocurrencies. Interest in offering it to customers is basically non-existent.
When it comes to how you look at customers who themselves buy or sell cryptocurrency with other players, the answers vary.
Länsförsäkringar says straight out that it does not want such customers and has "decided to deny trading in cryptocurrency". Handelsbanken has a restrictive stance, but replies that according to the payment regulations, it is "difficult to generally stop entire industries or customer groups from sending or receiving payments".
No formal ban
Same message from the other major banks: no formal ban, but expect to come under the microscope for your crypto transactions. Nordea refers to the Money Laundering Act when they reply that they are conducting increased control for customers "with links to cryptocurrencies".
Entrepreneurs should pay extra attention to saving receipts for all transactions – the threshold is lower for the bank to dump an entrepreneur as a customer, compared to private individuals protected by the Payment Services Act. It means that consumers residing in the EU will be able to open accounts with basic payment services.
Difficult for crypto entrepreneurs
For entrepreneurs active in the crypto industry, it is practically impossible to become a customer of a Swedish bank. SEB responds in SVT's survey that it "does not provide services to companies whose business model is directly dependent on cryptocurrencies".
The banks Nordnet and Avanza enable investment in crypto indirectly, via so-called certificates that follow the value of an underlying asset, such as Bitcoin. Rikard Josefson, CEO of Avanza Bank, does not rule out offering trading directly in crypto in the future, if the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority says okay:
"Sweden has a somewhat strange attitude to the issue. Today, we force Swedes with crypto interests out on foreign exchanges that can be unsafe with poor customer protection.
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Follow SVT's economic commentator to the countries that like cryptocurrencies. Photo: SVT/Marco Nilson