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Sweden Urges Households to Keep Cash for Emergencies
Sveriges Riksbank has urged households in Sweden to keep at least SEK 1,000 in cash and maintain multiple payment methods to prepare for potential disruptions, crises, or war affecting digital payment systems.
Riskbank building photo by Riskbank official website.
The central bank of Sweden has urged households to keep cash at home and maintain multiple payment options, warning that the current international situation and the country’s high level of digitalization could create vulnerabilities in the national payments system.
In guidance issued by Sveriges Riksbank, the bank said Sweden’s heavy reliance on digital payments means disruptions during crises, technical outages or even wartime scenarios could hinder the public’s ability to make purchases.
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“The general public is an important part of Sweden’s total defence and central to strengthening national preparedness in the payments market,” the central bank said. “Having access to different payment methods improves the public’s ability to make payments in the event of temporary disruptions, crises and, in the worst case, war.”
The Riksbank recommends that all households keep about SEK 1,000 in cash per adult at home. The amount is intended as a benchmark that could cover approximately one week of essential purchases during an emergency.
Officials said households may need more or less cash depending on the number of people in the household and advised people to keep banknotes in several different denominations.
Alongside cash reserves, the bank encouraged consumers to hold both Visa and Mastercard cards to ensure access to multiple payment networks if one system experiences disruptions.
The Riksbank said it is currently working on improving the ability to make offline card payments in order to strengthen the resilience of Sweden’s payment infrastructure. At present, the ability to make card payments when internet connectivity is unavailable remains limited, and contactless or mobile wallet transactions do not function offline.
If card networks become unavailable, authorities noted that the mobile payment service Swish may still operate in some cases, and the public was encouraged to register for the service as an additional payment option.
The bank also advised people who typically rely on mobile wallets such as Apple Pay or Google Pay to keep their physical bank cards available in case their mobile devices run out of battery power or stop functioning.
Despite the growing role of digital payments, the Riksbank said cash remains the most reliable fallback in contingency planning scenarios.
The central bank added that it supports legislative measures aimed at preserving the use of cash, referencing proposals outlined in a government-sponsored inquiry published late last year.
Editor’s Note:
This report summarizes guidance issued by Sveriges Riksbank regarding payment preparedness for households in Sweden. The recommendations are part of broader national resilience planning amid concerns about disruptions to digital payment infrastructure during crises or emergencies.
