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Sweden's Cash-Free Future Looms -- and Not Everyone Is Happy About It
HughPickens.com writes: Liz Alderman writes in the NYT that bills and coins now represent just 2 percent of Sweden's economy, compared with 7.7 percent in the United States and 10 percent in the euro area and this year only about 20 percent of all consumer payments in Sweden have been made in cash, compared with an average of 75 percent in the rest of the world. "Sweden has always been at the forefront of technology, so it's easy to embrace this," said Jacob de Geer, a founder of iZettle, which makes a mobile-powered card reader. In Sweden parishioners text tithes to their churches, homeless street vendors carry mobile credit-card readers, and even the Abba Museum, despite being a shrine to the 1970s pop group that wrote "Money, Money, Money," considers cash so last-century that it does not accept bills and coins. "We don't want to be behind the times by taking cash while cash is dying out," says Bjorn Ulvaeus, a former Abba member who has leveraged the band's legacy into a sprawling business empire, including the museum.
But not everyone is pleased with the process. Remember, Sweden is the place where, if you use too much cash, banks call the police because they think you might be a terrorist or a criminal. Swedish banks have started removing cash ATMs from rural areas, annoying old people and farmers. Credit Suisse says the rule of thumb in Scandinavia is: "If you have to pay in cash, something is wrong." Sweden's embrace of electronic payments has alarmed consumer organizations and critics who warn of a rising threat to privacy and increased vulnerability to sophisticated Internet crimes. Last year, the number of electronic fraud cases surged to 140,000, more than double the amount a decade ago, according to Sweden's Ministry of Justice. Older adults and refugees in Sweden who use cash may be marginalized, critics say, and young people who use apps to pay for everything or take out loans via their mobile phones risk falling into debt. "It might be trendy," says Bjorn Eriksson, a former director of the Swedish police force and former president of Interpol. "But there are all sorts of risks when a society starts to go cashless."
But not everyone is pleased with the process. Remember, Sweden is the place where, if you use too much cash, banks call the police because they think you might be a terrorist or a criminal. Swedish banks have started removing cash ATMs from rural areas, annoying old people and farmers. Credit Suisse says the rule of thumb in Scandinavia is: "If you have to pay in cash, something is wrong." Sweden's embrace of electronic payments has alarmed consumer organizations and critics who warn of a rising threat to privacy and increased vulnerability to sophisticated Internet crimes. Last year, the number of electronic fraud cases surged to 140,000, more than double the amount a decade ago, according to Sweden's Ministry of Justice. Older adults and refugees in Sweden who use cash may be marginalized, critics say, and young people who use apps to pay for everything or take out loans via their mobile phones risk falling into debt. "It might be trendy," says Bjorn Eriksson, a former director of the Swedish police force and former president of Interpol. "But there are all sorts of risks when a society starts to go cashless."
you left out the best part.
track and control and TAX every aspect. Just like the mafia, they want a piece of all the action
I'll always accept gold for anything I sell or as payment for any service. A card? Not fucking likely. I'd bet gold or something like bitcoin replaces cash. There will always be a place for some real type of currency.
I don't know how it is in other countries, but in the United States, accepting legal tender is mandatory only for repayment of "DEBTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE". To avoid this, a shop can require prepayment for all goods and services so that the customer never incurs debt.
But if you pay with a credit card in Sweden* the merchant will not get your name, or any other personal information. All he will get is a "Transaction accepted" from the credit card company, and maybe the part of your credit card number which is also printed on your credit card receipts.
*Ok, I only know how it works in Denmark, but I can't imagine it being different in sweden.
Don't look now, but your old cell phone pings towers frequently, so it can be used to track you.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
I'm Swedish, and I rarely use cash any more.
Stores prefer less cash, because handling cash is expensive. Money cost money. It also increases risk from robbery and so on. This year an app called 'Swish' has been the new thing. You can send money directly from your mobile to someone else Swish app. Going directly from bank account to another.. all you need is their number. No fees. Many street vendors are using it, and it makes it super easy to give money to someone.
Another consequence is that night clubs run by criminals are super easy to spot. They are the ones refusing plastic.
Plenty do.
I didn't take a credit card to Japan when I went there for a few months earlier this year; outside of large metropolitan areas NO ONE takes credit cards, much less debit cards. The only exception you can find to this is larger branches of banks with ATM type machines, and even then it is a crap-shoot whether it will work with your particular bank / card.
I'm sure there are plenty of other countries like this as well, most of east Asia is, in a large part, a cash only society.
To err is human; effective mayhem requires the root password!
Nobody is paying that much for a gram of coke. Fairly unstomped powder in FL is 80/g but less if you buy a ball. You *might* pay that in NYC but only if you're afraid of black people. Standard price in Buffalo was 100/g & 300/ball about a month ago. Even in Maine, you're paying 300/ball. Less if you're buying bulk.
Those numbers are full of shit. Oh, a ball is an 8-ball. It is 3.5 grams. You can probably get rock down here in FL for 60/g and I'm up in the panhandle.
Err... Umm... Yeah, I got that information for a friend.
Other than that, carry on.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."