Sweden Rebuilds Cash Safeguards in Digital Payments Rethink

Sweden became a global fintech leader through widespread BankID adoption, high internet penetration and services such as Swish, launched in 2012. Its near-cashless economy helped companies including Klarna, Trustly and Tink scale internationally, while the Riksbank began exploring an e-krona in 2017. But cyber risks, geopolitical tensions and the threat of network outages have shifted the policy debate from digital convenience toward payment resilience and national security.

The Riksbank’s Payments Report 2026 recommends that households keep about SEK1,000 ($104) in cash per adult, along with physical cards, PIN codes and access to Swish. Legislation introduced in 2026 requires food stores and pharmacies, with specified exceptions and transaction limits, to accept cash at staffed checkouts. From July 1, the central bank and market participants also moved to strengthen offline card payments for essential goods, while the Riksbank and Swish’s owner banks study offline mobile payments.