Sweden is reinforcing access to physical cash after years at the forefront of digital payments, treating banknotes as a backup when electronic systems fail or come under attack. The policy shift does not amount to an abandonment of cards or mobile payments, which remain dominant, but it recognizes that a nearly cashless economy can create a single point of failure.
The Riksbank has advised residents to keep 1,000 Swedish kronor per adult at home. Government preparedness guidance distributed to households also recommends using cash regularly so that consumers, shops and supporting infrastructure remain capable of handling it during a crisis. Officials link that advice to the risk of blackouts, sabotage and hybrid attacks highlighted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
New rules announced in July require essential retailers, including staffed grocery stores and pharmacies, to accept cash. The measure is intended to preserve access to basic goods if card networks or other digital services are unavailable. It can also reduce barriers for older people and others who depend more heavily on notes and coins.
The practical challenge is that Swedish payment habits have moved decisively in the opposite direction. Riksbank data showed that only 5 percent of consumers used cash for their most recent in-store purchase in 2025, down from 10 percent in 2023 and 40 percent 15 years earlier. The Swish mobile-payment system, bank cards and phone wallets have become routine, while many banks and shops stopped handling currency.
Retailers returning to cash must acquire registers or counting equipment, train staff and manage storage and robbery risks for a payment method that few customers choose. Some small businesses question whether the costs are proportionate. At the same time, public unease about cash's decline is rising. A September 2025 survey found that almost half of respondents viewed declining cash use somewhat or very negatively, compared with 36 percent in 2022. Negative views were more common among people over 65 and those outside major cities.
The Riksbank's argument is resilience rather than nostalgia. Governor Erik Thedeen described recently completing a supermarket purchase with cash when the store's card system failed and other customers could not pay. Ukraine also provides a complicated example: withdrawals rose early in the war, but digital transactions recovered as people regained confidence in electronic systems.
Sweden is therefore pursuing redundancy. Digital payments will continue to handle most transactions, while cash is being preserved as an operational fallback. The policy tests whether a country that has already dismantled much of its everyday cash habit can restore enough circulation to make that fallback reliable when it is actually needed.
