News in Brief

Sweden Boosts Cash Handling Capacity

Despite Sweden being in the vanguard of the cashless movement, its central bank – Sveriges Riksbank – is opening new offices to handle notes and coins.

According to the Riksbank, it is opening two new locations for cash handling in addition to the existing cash centre in Märsta, north of Stockholm. One will be located further north in Falun, and the other to the south west in Jönköping.

This is in spite of the fact that the value of cash in circulation almost halved between 2007 and 2018, and that, during the pandemic, Sweden’s cash usage has dropped to its lowest level ever, with COVID-19 accelerating the shift toward digital payments. In 2020, less than 1 in 10 of all payments were made in cash.