A market where cash has left the checkout
Swedish retail is the most cashless in Europe, and its lead over the rest of the continent is widening. The Sveriges Riksbank surveyed 2,008 people aged 18 to 84 from September 8 to 19, 2025. Only 5% of respondents said they paid cash for their most recent in-store purchase, down from 10% in 2023. Fifteen years earlier, the figure was 40%. The indicator is based on the last reported purchase: it measures how often people use cash, not the share of spending that cash covers.
The flip side of that decline is a card dominance few European markets can match. Across all forms, physical or in a phone, debit or credit, cards account for about 92% of last in-store purchases, with physical debit cards alone at 61%. Phone wallets such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay rose from 9% in 2023 to 18% in 2025 on the same measure.
| Payment method | Used in the past 30 days | Used for last in-store purchase |
|---|---|---|
| Swish | 91 % | 2 % |
| Physical debit card | 85 % | 61 % |
| Card in a phone (Apple Pay, Samsung Pay…) | 34% (3% in 2018) | 18% (9% in 2023) |
| All card forms combined | 98 % | ≈ 92 % |
| Cash | – | 5 % |
E-commerce follows a parallel path: 80% of respondents bought something online in the past 30 days, up from 75% in 2022 and 2023, and 56% in 2018. The two methods cited most often online are Swish and Klarna-style pay-later, both growing since 2023, while debit cards are losing ground. Across all forms, cards account for 64% of the methods used online over 30 days. The Swedish mix therefore splits by channel: cards win in stores, while invoices and account-to-account payments win online.
BankID: the identity layer no payment works without
BankID is Sweden’s standard electronic ID. Launched in 2003, it is operated by Finansiell ID-Teknik BID AB, a company owned by the banks. Swedes use it to open an account, sign a contract, log in to public services, approve a transfer, and activate Swish. The Riksbank describes it as used by a very large share of the population to identify themselves and sign. None of the payment building blocks described below makes sense without it.
Strong authentication in Sweden is not a matter of card-network 3-D Secure. It runs through a third-party app the customer already has, and the merchant delegates proof of consent to that app. An onboarding flow built on a merchant-specific password or an SMS code therefore looks less secure than the local norm, and it converts worse.
In response, the state has begun building a public electronic ID. The government has tasked Polismyndigheten, the Swedish Police Authority, with designing and issuing it, in cooperation with Digg, the Agency for Digital Government. The framework is the EU’s eIDAS regulation, which requires every member state to provide an ID at the highest assurance level. Sweden has none today. A bill on its design, its physical carrier, and its activation was referred to the Council on Legislation (Lagrådet) in January 2026.
The Riksbank supports the public e-ID but sets one condition: it must work for payments and be usable on a phone. Otherwise it will remain an administrative tool, and commerce will stay entirely dependent on BankID. No launch date has been set. A Swedish onboarding flow designed for 2027 or 2028 should therefore support both ID schemes.
Swish: Europe’s purest account-to-account system
Swish is an account-to-account payment service launched in 2012 through a collaboration among Sweden’s major banks. It is operated by Getswish AB, which is owned by Danske Bank, Länsförsäkringar Bank, Nordea, SEB, Handelsbanken, and Swedbank. The payment runs over no card network. Money moves from one bank account to another and settles in central bank money in the Riksbank’s instant payment system.
That architecture drives the service’s economics: no interchange, no international scheme fees, no tokenization to orchestrate. The payee’s own bank sets the price, publishes it in its fee schedule, and writes it into the Swish contract, so merchants negotiate with a bank rather than a network. Swish acceptance costs should therefore be modeled as a bank fee, negotiated bank by bank, not as a commission based on network pricing.
| Service | Recipient | How it works | What it requires |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swish Företag | Small businesses, nonprofits, tradespeople, market stalls | The customer pays to a business Swish number, typed in or scanned from a QR code | No terminal, no register: confirmation arrives in the payee’s app |
| Swish Handel | E-commerce and stores with a checkout system | The register or online cart sends the amount; the customer approves in the app with BankID; the register receives the approval or decline | Technical integration via API and a dedicated contract with the bank |
| Swish Utbetalning | Businesses that need to pay individuals | Refunds, compensation, winnings: the payee is identified by phone number | Handy for e-commerce returns without holding the customer’s bank details |
Merchant acceptance of Swish far exceeds its share of actual payments. In a Riksbank survey of 898 small businesses, conducted from September 3 to October 28, 2025, 74% accept Swish, yet Swish accounts for only 12% of the payments they actually receive. Debit cards are still accepted by 92% of respondents and cash by 67%; businesses that accept cash estimate that 7% of their takings come in cash.
Two recent developments are changing the service’s trajectory. First, Getswish became a licensed clearing company under Swedish Act 2024:114, after its shareholder banks injected about SEK 450 million. Swish has since been a supervised infrastructure. Second, the European Commission forced Apple in 2024 to open up the iPhone’s NFC chip, and Swish soon announced an in-store contactless feature, alongside Vipps MobilePay. That puts the store checkout within reach of an account-to-account rail.
Bankgirot, bankgiro, and the OCR reference: the plumbing behind invoices
The bankgiro number is a public 7- or 8-digit identifier assigned to a payee. It points to a bank account without revealing it. This addressing method coexists with Swish and has no equivalent elsewhere in Europe. A company can switch banks and keep its bankgiro, and its customers keep paying the same number. The system has sold itself on this since 1959, which is why every Swedish invoice shows a bankgiro number rather than an IBAN.
The second pillar is the OCR reference, a structured number that enables automatic matching of incoming payments. Bankgirot sets its rules. It is 2 to 25 digits long, with no other characters, spaces, or separators, and ends in a check digit calculated using modulo 10. When the creditor opts for stricter checking, a length digit can precede the check digit, in the second-to-last position.
Payee bankgiro : 5555-6666 7 or 8 digits, the creditor's public address
OCR reference : 1234567894 2 to 25 digits, last = modulo 10 check digit
Amount : 1 250,00 SEK
Payment date : 2026-03-17
OCR check levels Bankgirot offers the creditor
soft control : invalid reference accepted, with a warning
hard control : only a valid modulo 10 check digit is accepted
variable length control : check digit + length digit checked
fixed length control : check digit + allowed lengths (2 at most), set in the contract
Consequence: except under soft control, an invalid reference
BLOCKS the payment in the payer's online banking.Bankgirot, operated by Bankgirocentralen BGC AB, clears bankgiro payments, interbank transfers, and Autogiro direct debits. Sweden’s direct debit runs in kronor under its own mandate, outside the SEPA scheme, and carries subscriptions and recurring bills. Clearing output is sent to the Riksbank, where settlement becomes final. Banks, payment institutions, and e-money institutions can participate.
Bankgirot is owned by Finansinfrastruktur i Sverige AB, formerly P27, which is in turn owned by Handelsbanken, Nordea, SEB, Swedbank, and Danske Bank. P27 was set up in 2017 to build a Nordic multicurrency clearing platform. It bought Bankgirot in 2021 to take over its business, then withdrew its application for a clearing license in 2023. The holding company lives on, but the Nordic platform it was meant to build has been abandoned.
RIX and RIX-INST: an instant rail the banks don’t use
RIX is the Riksbank’s interbank settlement system. It has two services: RIX-RTGS for large-value payments and aggregated positions, and RIX-INST for individual instant payments. RIX-INST has been live since 2024 on the Eurosystem’s TIPS platform, which the Riksbank rents for its own currency. A central bank outside the euro area thus settles its currency on ECB infrastructure. The predecessor, Betalningar i Realtid (BiR), owned by the banks through Bankgirot, has been shut down.
Since November 2024, RIX-INST has accepted instant payments other than Swish. The Riksbank notes that only two small banks send them daily. In Norway and Denmark, nearly every bank offers instant payments directly in online banking or its app. The technical groundwork for Swedish instant payments outside Swish is therefore in place, but the country’s large banks have not taken it up.
The regulatory explanation is the currency. The EU Instant Payments Regulation requires providers that offer standard credit transfers in euros to offer instant euro transfers as well, at no extra cost. The Swedish krona falls outside that scope, so nothing compels a Swedish bank to offer SEK instant payments in its online banking. The Riksbank has opted for a public recommendation with a deadline: it expects an offer or a plan by March 2027.
Two projects will change the picture in the near term. TIPS Cross Currency, developed by the Riksbank with the ECB and Danmarks Nationalbank, will enable instant payments across currencies, starting with the euro, the Swedish krona, and the Danish krone. It is scheduled to open to RIX-INST participants from June 2026. The Nordic Payments Council’s NOLO framework, which standardizes payments from, to, and between the Scandinavian currencies, is due in November 2026. The Riksbank encourages Swedish banks to adopt it, and notes that market interest in TIPS Cross Currency has so far been weak.
| Currency sent | Cost to the payer | What the payee receives | Drawback |
|---|---|---|---|
| DKK or NOK | Exchange rate set by the payer’s bank, plus a flat fee of at least SEK 50 in most cases | The exact amount sent, in that currency | The flat fee crushes small payments; the payee’s bank may add its own fees |
| EUR | No flat fee, since the bank is bound by the SEPA regulation | Amount converted by the payee’s bank | The payer doesn’t know in advance what will arrive, because of the second conversion |
| SEK | Usually no direct fee for the payer | Amount converted by the payee’s bank at its own rate, potentially minus a flat fee | Cost shifted to the payee, invisible to the payer |
The Riksbank considers these routes inadequate and is opening a dialogue with the market on intra-Nordic payments in Nordic currencies. In its view, these payments should follow the same principle as payments to and from the euro area: the price of a domestic payment. It explicitly singles out the large banks operating in several Nordic countries as responsible. The outcome of this dialogue will shape the cross-border fee schedules that apply in 2027.
Klarna and Sweden’s invoice culture
Pay-by-invoice means the goods are delivered before they are paid for: the customer then receives an invoice bearing an OCR reference and a bankgiro number. This sequence has shaped Swedish remote commerce for decades. Klarna, founded in 2005, industrialized it and then took it abroad. Its original product follows the logic of an invoice rather than that of traditional consumer credit.
The group is split across several entities, only one of which holds a banking license. The parent, Klarna Group plc, is incorporated in England and Wales and has been listed on the NYSE under KLAR since September 10, 2025. Banking activity sits in the Swedish subsidiary Klarna Bank AB, licensed by Finansinspektionen. Klarna also owns Sofort, now Klarna Pay Now, and in3. For a merchant, Klarna is therefore a payment method, a lender, and, in practice, an acquirer all at once.
In its home market, pay-later is also used in stores, and the Riksbank’s small-business survey reveals a clear pattern. The higher the average ticket, the more likely a business is to accept invoice or pay-later payments. Klarna and Qliro are cited as in-store examples. Conversely, the lower the ticket, the more debit cards and cash dominate. The mix of payment methods a Swedish merchant accepts therefore tracks the average ticket more than the sales channel.
The disappearance of cash, resilience, and the democratic debate
The decline of cash is a matter of public debate in Sweden, separate from the statistics that document it. Nearly half of respondents to the Riksbank survey view the decline in cash use as fairly or very negative. That share is stable from 2023 and well above 2022, when it stood at 36%. The central bank attributes the shift partly to heightened awareness of crisis risk following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Refusals fuel the sentiment: about one in three people who tried to pay cash in a store were turned away. On the business side, one in three does not accept cash, and about half of those stopped within the past five years. Security risk is the most cited reason, ahead of handling time and the difficulty of depositing the day’s takings.
Access to cash is governed by law, and that framework was put to the test in 2025. Article 13 of the Förordning (2010:1008) om betaltjänster sets the threshold: no more than 0.3% of the population may have to travel more than 25 kilometers to the nearest cash withdrawal point. For depositing takings, the threshold rises to 1.22%. These targets apply nationwide, which allows much weaker coverage locally.
The government responded with a bill. Titled “Åtgärder för att stärka kontanternas funktionssätt” (measures to strengthen the functioning of cash), it follows the Ministry of Finance’s 2024 cash inquiry and was referred to the Council on Legislation in December 2025. It contains three main measures. Large banks would have to offer businesses suitable services for cash floats and daily takings. Individuals would get the same proximity principle as businesses for deposits. And grocery stores and pharmacies would be required to accept cash, with some exceptions.
The Riksbank supports these proposals and wants one more: it would add staffed gas stations to the list. Fuel is what keeps essential transportation running in a crisis or during heightened alert. All the major chains with staffed stations already accept cash, so the cost of such a requirement would be low.
The debate extends beyond cash to paying bills over the counter. For anyone who is not a customer of a specific bank, this service is now available at only 32 locations nationwide, down 95% since 2017 and 80% since 2021. It can cost up to SEK 200 per bill. The 190 local savings bank branches that still offer it do so only for their own customers. A fully digital market thus creates its own excluded groups, such as asylum seekers, visiting students, and people without a payment account, who no longer have any way to pay a bill. The state is starting to act on this.
The e-krona, the digital euro, and monetary sovereignty
Sweden is often cited as the country furthest along toward a central bank digital currency. Yet its e-krona project has been halted. From 2017 to 2023, the Riksbank studied the economic, legal, and technical questions raised by a digital krona. In 2023, the government’s payments inquiry examined the state’s role in the market and concluded that there was not a sufficient societal need to issue an e-krona. The report stressed how quickly things were changing and left the door open to a review.
The subject returns in 2026 via the digital euro. The ECB is pressing ahead with the project, whose legislative framework is under negotiation in the Council and the European Parliament. If that framework is adopted, the ECB estimates that issuance could begin in 2029. The Riksbank explicitly frames this as a question of monetary competitiveness. If the digital euro takes hold, European payment infrastructure and law could be shaped around it, and some Swedish payment flows could move away from the krona.
The Riksbank therefore makes a recommendation to the Riksdag, Sweden’s parliament, and to the government in its 2026 report. It calls for a commission of inquiry into the legislative changes needed for a potential e-krona, so that one could be introduced within a reasonable time if parliament so decided. The proposed trigger is specific: finalization of the digital euro regulation and an ECB decision to issue it. Issuing an e-krona would in any case require a decision by the Riksdag.
The technical option under consideration concerns the processing platform. An e-krona could, by agreement with the ECB, run on the digital euro platform. The Riksbank sees a cost advantage in this, along with compatibility between Swedish and European payments. It notes a second benefit: the digital euro is designed with offline capabilities, so an e-krona built on the same platform would strengthen Sweden’s preparedness. The logic mirrors RIX-INST on TIPS, with Sweden renting Eurosystem infrastructure rather than building its own.
| Form | Issuer | License type | What an operator should take away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banknotes and coins | Sveriges Riksbank | In circulation, use falling sharply | Central bank money available to the public; the only rail that works without power or a network |
| Reserves in RIX | Sveriges Riksbank | Live | Central bank money restricted to participants; where Swish and Bankgirot payments become final |
| Commercial bank money | Licensed banks | Dominant | A claim on the bank; carries almost all Swedish payments |
| E-money | E-money institutions | Live | These institutions can now apply to participate in RIX and Bankgirot |
| E-krona | Sveriges Riksbank | Discontinued, pilot closed, inquiry recommended | Don’t present it as an active project: it requires a Riksdag decision that has not been made |
One final regulatory project concerns payment statistics reporting. The Riksbank’s RBFS 2025:1 rules apply to payment service providers and system operators established in Sweden, and to foreign providers with a Swedish branch. They must report credit transfers, instant credit transfers, card payments, ATM withdrawals, and direct debits, as well as the number of cards issued and of payment accounts. The rules take effect on October 1, 2026, with reporting of transfers postponed to October 1, 2027.
Operating in Sweden: what to connect, what breaks, what it costs
Entering the Swedish market requires connecting to three local building blocks: an electronic ID, an addressing rail, and an instant rail. BankID handles customer onboarding and transaction approval, in the form Swedish consumers know. The bankgiro number and OCR reference enable automatic matching of invoice payments. Swish carries P2P payments and a share of e-commerce that any payment mix built without it will miss.
| Channel | Connect first | Next | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| In store, small ticket | Contactless debit cards, cards in phones | Cash for essential goods | 92% of small businesses accept debit cards; 18% of last in-store purchases use a card in a phone |
| In store, high ticket | Card, then invoice or pay-later | Swish Företag where there’s no register | The higher the average ticket, the more invoice and pay-later are accepted (Riksbank survey, 2025) |
| E-commerce | Klarna and Swish Handel, then cards | Trustly or a PSD2 payment initiation provider for pay-by-bank | Online, Swish and pay-later are cited most; cards account for 64% over 30 days |
| Invoicing and subscriptions | Bankgiro with OCR reference, Autogiro | E-faktura (e-invoice) to the customer’s online bank | Autogiro is not a SEPA direct debit: the mandate, format, and currency are domestic |
| Refunds and winnings | Swish Utbetalning | Bankgiro credit transfer | Addressed by phone number, no bank details needed |
Swedish merchants themselves have a poor grasp of what accepting payments costs them. Asked by the Riksbank, small businesses struggle to put a number on their payment costs, and one in three says it does not know. Of those that answered, 25% put the cost at 0 to 1% of revenue, 31% at 1 to 2%, and 8% at more than 2%. Among those that also sell online, 35% say the cost is higher for e-commerce than in physical stores, versus 9% who say it is lower.
In Sweden, the ability to keep taking payments during a network outage is sold as a product feature, not as an abstract compliance point. Of small businesses surveyed, 86% say they can accept payments even if their usual internet connection is down; for 61% of them, the main fallback combines cash and Swish. From July 1, 2026, offline card payments for essential goods will add to these options. A provider selling in Sweden without a documented answer on degraded mode gives up a selling point that local competitors already use.
- Sveriges Riksbank, the central bank: operator of RIX and RIX-INST, authority for payment preparedness, and author of the annual report that sets the market’s agenda.
- Finansinspektionen, the prudential supervisor, which is requiring the banks that own Bankgirot to migrate to ISO 20022 by December 2026.
- Bankgirot (Bankgirocentralen BGC AB), the clearing house for bankgiro payments, credit transfers, and Autogiro; owned by Finansinfrastruktur i Sverige AB, formerly P27.
- Getswish AB, the operator of Swish, now a licensed clearing company under Act 2024:114.
- Finansiell ID-Teknik BID AB, the operator of BankID, an authentication prerequisite for almost all online payments.
- Post- och Telestyrelsen monitors banks’ compliance with cash access obligations; Länsstyrelsen i Dalarnas län, the Dalarna County Administrative Board, oversees basic payment services.
- Nordic Payments Council, the regional standards body; author of the NOLO framework due in November 2026.