[2015-10-22] Sweden to Become World’s First Cashless Country

[tyz]

A study by the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm shows that Sweden is on track to become the world’s first cashless country.

http://cointelegraph.com/news/115452/sweden-to-become-worlds-first-cashless-country

[Kakmakr]

It will be difficult to apply this model to developing countries due to the network infrastructure limitations. The prices for mobile phones <smart phones> will have to come down to fill that gap. We have already seen how M-Pesa and Bitpesa have taken off in Africa.

To be honest, I cannot see how banks can make a decision to stop accepting cash. 

[Swordsoffreedom]

A study by the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm shows that Sweden is on track to become the world’s first cashless country.

http://cointelegraph.com/news/115452/sweden-to-become-worlds-first-cashless-country

I recall an article like this on Bitcoin discussion a while back they are progressing towards digital far faster than other countries given their small size.
As a model for crypto it still remains to be seen.

To be honest, I cannot see how banks can make a decision to stop accepting cash. 

Developed to the extent where the Swedes hardly ever use bills

[rammy2k2]

Over 60% of financial transactions are made cashless in sweden 

[eyeknock]

Over 60% of financial transactions are made cashless in sweden  

really?, i didn't know it, then this news make sense for me and that study by the KTH Royal Institute of Technology has a reasonable basis, well, obviously, they need to have a reasonable basis to said that...

btw, anyway, that's a positive news for bitcoin world

To be honest, I cannot see how banks can make a decision to stop accepting cash.  

they will, only if they start to feel that this is profitable for them... don't forget that is exactly what banks have been doing always,i mean to find the way to make more and more money.

[gentlemand]

What about all the old grannies? It's easy to discount them in the march of progress but they're also the most diligent voters. Most of them can't even operate a DVD player. They wanted to abolish cheques in the UK but that was rapidly put aside when it became clear how many oldies still used them.

[Mickeyb]

It will be difficult to apply this model to developing countries due to the network infrastructure limitations. The prices for mobile phones <smart phones> will have to come down to fill that gap. We have already seen how M-Pesa and Bitpesa have taken off in Africa.

To be honest, I cannot see how banks can make a decision to stop accepting cash. 

Yes, it's much easier to da a thing like this in a highly developed and disciplined country. So Sweden is one of the rear that can pull this off. In the poorer countries cash still is a king.

Also, as I understood, they are not forcing their population to do this. They are just following their preferences as they are already deciding to do so.

[gogxmagog]

What about all the old grannies? It's easy to discount them in the march of progress but they're also the most diligent voters. Most of them can't even operate a DVD player. They wanted to abolish cheques in the UK but that was rapidly put aside when it became clear how many oldies still used them.

cheques still exist but they aren't used for much more than paying bills anymore. they are going to disappear eventually, sooner than later. I'm 50 and i can remember people buying groceries with cheques. that would never happen today... most places stopped accepting them in the 80s. I believe the digital cash changeover will happen in the same way... then we better pray hard that the electricity and internet stays on...

worse comes to worst, I can still chop wood, clean fish, and carry water, so I'll be OK.

[JeffZwolle]

cashless is bad!

http://www.cnbc.com/2013/12/12/cashless-society-a-huge-threat-to-our-freedomcommentary.html

[bryant.coleman]

The main reason why I don't use my credit card very often is because I know that the vendor will have to pay a 1.8% fee to either VISA or MASTER for processing the payment. If the government is making credit card payment mandatory, then they should make the fees 0%. Otherwise I can file a lawsuit against them and claim that they are doing this in order to help the credit card companies.

[Bit_Happy]

I will keep using small amounts of cash, until the Dollar is so worthless that we burn it for fuel.

What about all the old grannies? It's easy to discount them in the march of progress but they're also the most diligent voters. Most of them can't even operate a DVD player. They wanted to abolish cheques in the UK but that was rapidly put aside when it became clear how many oldies still used them.

cheques still exist but they aren't used for much more than paying bills anymore. they are going to disappear eventually, sooner than later. I'm 50 and i can remember people buying groceries with cheques. that would never happen today... most places stopped accepting them in the 80s. I believe the digital cash changeover will happen in the same way... then we better pray hard that the electricity and internet stays on...

worse comes to worst, I can still chop wood, clean fish, and carry water, so I'll be OK.

Grocery stores in many parts of the USA still take local checks.

[unamis76]

The natural evolution, I think... Tomorrow Sweden, the next day Europe and then most of the World.

[nachoig]

cashless is bad!

http://www.cnbc.com/2013/12/12/cashless-society-a-huge-threat-to-our-freedomcommentary.html

Agreed.

Cash is fundamental for privacy, as the payments aren't be tied to one particular person. Debit and credit cards don't allow this. With this, your bank (and the government) can know all your entire routine.

An example of incidents which can happen because of the lack of privacy caused by this system: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/

[Denker]

The natural evolution, I think... Tomorrow Sweden, the next day Europe and then most of the World.

No it won't go that fast I believe.Especially countries like Germany are very very conservative.Still more than 50% of daily retail shopping is done with cash money here.We had a some articles about abandon cash in the country some while ago and even the big bankster here said they don't want that.

[bryant.coleman]

The natural evolution, I think... Tomorrow Sweden, the next day Europe and then most of the World.

First lets see whether this experiment succeeds in Sweden or not. 99% of the chance is that it will be an abject and pathetic failure. We can try this concept in 2030 or 2040. But 2015? I think that it is a little bit too early. Banknotes and coins will be here for at least 50 years more. It is not possible to replace them completely.