LONDON: Sweden is on track to becoming the world's first cashless society, thanks to the country's embrace of information technology as well as a crackdown on organized crime and terror, according to a new study.
Niklas Arvidsson, a researcher at KTH Royal Institute of Technologyin Sweden, said that the widespread and growing embrace of the mobile payment system, Swish, is helping hasten the day when Sweden replaces cash altogether.
"Cash is still an important means of payment in many countries' markets, but that no longer applies here in Sweden. Our use of cash is small, and it's decreasing rapidly," Arvidsson said
Niklas Arvidsson, a researcher at KTH Royal Institute of Technologyin Sweden, said that the widespread and growing embrace of the mobile payment system, Swish, is helping hasten the day when Sweden replaces cash altogether.
"Cash is still an important means of payment in many countries' markets, but that no longer applies here in Sweden. Our use of cash is small, and it's decreasing rapidly," Arvidsson said
In a country where bank cards are routinely used for even the smallest purchases, there are less than 80 billion Swedish crowns in circulation, a sharp decline from just six years ago, when 106 billion Swedish crowns were in circulation.
"And out of that amount, only somewhere between 40 and 60 per cent is actually in regular circulation," he said.
The rest is socked away in people's homes and bank deposit boxes, or can be found circulating in the underground economy. The result of collaboration between major Swedish and Danish banks, Swish is a direct payment app that is used for transactions between individuals, in real time.
The service's direct collaboration with Bankgiro and Sweden's national bank, Riksbanken, is a critical factor in its success, researchers said. But if Swish starts to be used on a larger scale and grow to include retail transactions and e-commerce, Arvidsson said it is likely the country's entire payment system infrastructure will have to be revamped.
Arvidsson said Swish is already revolutionising the banking system.
With digital giro systems, early electronic payment services and other advances in online financial services, Swedish banks have been early adopters of advanced IT systems, he said. Besides simplicity and lower costs, digital payments also add transparency to the nation's payment system.
Several banks in Sweden already have 100 per cent digitalised branches that will simply not accept cash.
"At the offices which do handle banknotes and coins, the customer must explain where the cash comes from, according to the regulations aimed at money laundering and terrorist financing," he said. In spite of its popularity, Sweden will still have to ensure that all people are able to participate in the new payment system, Arvidsson said.
The transformation would present serious challenges for those who are unfamiliar with computers and mobile phones — mainly older people living in rural areas.
"And out of that amount, only somewhere between 40 and 60 per cent is actually in regular circulation," he said.
The rest is socked away in people's homes and bank deposit boxes, or can be found circulating in the underground economy. The result of collaboration between major Swedish and Danish banks, Swish is a direct payment app that is used for transactions between individuals, in real time.
The service's direct collaboration with Bankgiro and Sweden's national bank, Riksbanken, is a critical factor in its success, researchers said. But if Swish starts to be used on a larger scale and grow to include retail transactions and e-commerce, Arvidsson said it is likely the country's entire payment system infrastructure will have to be revamped.
Arvidsson said Swish is already revolutionising the banking system.
With digital giro systems, early electronic payment services and other advances in online financial services, Swedish banks have been early adopters of advanced IT systems, he said. Besides simplicity and lower costs, digital payments also add transparency to the nation's payment system.
Several banks in Sweden already have 100 per cent digitalised branches that will simply not accept cash.
"At the offices which do handle banknotes and coins, the customer must explain where the cash comes from, according to the regulations aimed at money laundering and terrorist financing," he said. In spite of its popularity, Sweden will still have to ensure that all people are able to participate in the new payment system, Arvidsson said.
The transformation would present serious challenges for those who are unfamiliar with computers and mobile phones — mainly older people living in rural areas.
With widespread use of information technology and rapid decline in cash transactions, Sweden is on its way to becoming the world's first cashless society, says a new study.
The widespread and growing popularity of the mobile payment system Swish is helping hasten the day when Sweden replaces cash altogether, said researcher Niklas Arvidsson, industrial technology and management researcher at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.
"Cash is still an important means of payment in many countries' markets, but that no longer applies here in Sweden," Arvidsson said in a statement released by the institute recently.
"Our use of cash is small, and it is decreasing rapidly," Arvidsson noted.
In a country where bank cards are routinely used for even the smallest purchases, there are less than 80 billion Swedish Krona (SEK) in circulation (about EUR 8 billion), a sharp decline from just six years ago, when the total in circulation was SEK106 billion.
"And out of that amount, only somewhere between 40 and 60 percent is actually in regular circulation," he said.
The rest is socked away in people's homes and bank deposit boxes, or can be found circulating in the underground economy, the study said.
The result of collaboration between major Swedish and Danish banks, Swish is a direct payment app that is used for transactions between individuals, in real time.
स्वीडन में केटीएच रॉयल इंस्टिट्युट ऑफ टेक्नॉलजी में रिसर्चर निकलस आरविदसॉन ने बताया कि स्वीडन ने तेजी से मोबाइल पेमेंट सिस्टम को अपनाया है जिसकी वजह से जल्द ही वह दिन आ जाएगा जब स्वीडन दुनिया का पहला कैशलेस राष्ट्र बन जाएगा।
आरविदसॉन ने बताया, 'कई देशों में अब तक कैश पेमेंट का अहम साधन है लेकिन स्वीडन में अब इसका ज्यादा इस्तेमाल नहीं हो रहा है। कैश का हमारा इस्तेमाल बहुत ही कम है और बहुत ही तेजी से घट रहा है।'
स्वीडन में छोटी खरीदारी तक के लिए बैंक कार्ड बड़े पैमाने पर इस्तेमाल हो रहे हैं। सिर्फ 80 बिलियन स्विडिश क्राउन सर्कुलेशन में है जो 6 साल पहले करीब 106 बिलियन था। 6 सालों में क्राउन के इस्तेमाल में भारी गिरावट आई है। उन्होंने बताया कि इस रकम में से भी 40 से 60 फीसदी के बीच ही नियमित रूप से सर्कुलेशन में है। बाकी पैसा या तो लोगों के घरों में है या बैंक में जमा है या गैरकानूनी तरीके से इस्तेमाल हो रहा है।
बड़े स्विडिश और डैनिश बैंकों के बीच आपसी सहयोग के परिणामस्वरूप स्विट्जरलैंड में एक डायरेक्ट पेमेंट ऐप बैंकगिरो को डिवेलप किया जा सका है जिसका इस्तेमाल लोग आपस में ट्रांजैक्शन के लिए करते हैं। रिसर्चरों का कहना है कि बैंकगिरो और स्वीडन के राष्ट्रीय बैंक रिक्सबैंकन से सर्विस सेक्टर के सीधे तौर पर संपर्क के कारण ऐसा संभव हो पाया है। आरविदसॉन ने बताया कि स्विश पहले ही बैंकिंग सिस्टम में क्रांति ला चुके हैं।
उन्होंने बताया कि स्विडिश बैंकों ने बहुत पहले अडवांस आईटी सिस्टम को अपनाया है। इसके अलावा डिजिटल पेमेंट सरल है और इस पर खर्च भी बहुत ही कम आता है जिस कारण यह राष्ट्र के पेमेंट सिस्टम में पारदर्शिता को सुनिश्चित करती है। स्वीडन में कई बैंक ऐसे हैं जिनकी शाखाएं 100 फीसदी डिजिटल हैं और कैश नहीं लेती हैं।