We’re Going Less-Cash, Not Cashless
For many of us, paying with a debit or credit card is no big deal. Coffee? Swipe it. Supermarket? Swipe it. Bus? Whatever you want, all you have to do is swipe it! Paying with cards is easy, safe and it allows us to move around the city without those bulky wallets full of cash in our back pockets. But how close are we really from a ‘cashless society’?

In some developed countries, especially Scandinavian ones, the idea of leaving cash behind has been gaining traction rapidly. Sweden is a perfect example of how civil society and businesses are moving towards a cashless reality.

Last year, a nationwide research conducted by Sweden’s Central Bank Riksbank showed that almost all transactions made by Swedes in 2018 have been processed digitally, either by swiping their debit/credit cards, using contactless technology (NFC), or relying on mobile applications, such as Apple Pay, Google Pay or Swish. Oh, haven’t you heard of that one?

Back in 2012, Sweden’s top six countries came together to introduce Swish — a mobile payment app that enables instant digital transfers peer to peer and peer to business. While the app has established itself as a convenient payment method, it only works locally.

According to the same study, only 13 percent of Swedes reported using paper money in recent purchases, down from a 40 percent registered in 2010.

In line with this findings, the research also highlights a sharp reduction in cash withdrawals from ATMs. Nearly 20 percent of responders said they never withdraw cash in the past twelve months, while 42 percent said they visit ATMs less often than once a month.
[]
['Fintech', 'Payments', 'Technology', 'Finance', 'Money']