Cashless Sweden And Coin Collecting

Kind of ironic,I am 27 and I've had a few CC's before,havent had one in a few years as I just didn't see a need for it,but that has changed. When I go to the casino and win anything over 2k they want a credit card as a second form of id. So I finally ended up snagging one as I noticed ever more that people don't even want to be bothered with cash. I still believe cash is king,but it is slowly fading away as people would rather just have the ability to pay with their phone,card etc.

I live right next door and visit Sweden frequently due to harryhandel and work.

To be honest, I think the article is a bit inflated as it should also 'sell' the newspaper. I do know a lot of places which still have ATMs, and I haven't been refused a single cash transaction anywhere, ever. Scandinavian banks in general (also Danish and Norwegian) try to reduce the amount of cash as much as possible, as cash 'costs' them money and virtual money can all be fixed with self service tools on websites and apps. These are heftily being promoted and used, also because, for example, using an ATM costs you money: 10 or 20 kroner per transaction, just to discourage you. Plus an extra fee for the use of your card in ATMs at the end of the month, of course. A lot of people here take out some extra cash when shopping groceries, for example, as it's still 'free' then. It's called 'bank in butikk', or 'bank in shop'.

Sweden has just introduced a new series of coins and banknotes and has done that in such a harsh way and with such idiotic denominations that cash use is generally discouraged. I do know quite a few places and quite a few people who still prefer cash, though. Even for something simple as grabbing a shopping cart I will need a 10 kronor piece to unlock it.

We will not become totally cashless here any time soon, I guess, just like the paperless office never came into existence: it was announced, it was seen as the future and I still ended up with piles on my desk, many years later. Now if those piles can be piles of banknotes, though...

A good analogy.

I have tried my best in the last couple of years to reduce my paper consumption. I often tell cashiers to keep the receipt since I already see it on my phone before they can even print it. I get no bills in the mail, all of it is via e-mail notification (and secure PDF download). I keep my own electronic copies for my records. On the rare occasions I get something on paper that I need to keep, I scan it to PDF then shred.

But it is true, we are not there yet. Although I use my phone and CC for payments more and more, there are still things that need cash and I cannot see them going electronic any time soon.

Well said.

I don't agree that if coins go out of style coin collecting will as well. In fact it may be just the opposite as coins become seen as true antiques rather than just units of exchange with some being older than others.

I actually read a (paper!) newspaper today on my flight from China back to Europe and it contained an interesting article on this issue. I forgot the name of the newspaper, but it was aimed at expats and foreigners interested in doing business with mainland China.

The article had the same kind of content as the 'cashless Sweden' article. They had some interesting yet worrying statistics on how youngsters (18-25) leave their front door: apparently one in five young Chinese in the bigger cities like Shanghai and Beijing don't have cash with them anymore and rely on apps and cards. For the generation above (25-35) it's about one in twelve.

There also was a huge article about antiques (now that we've mentioned that topic, too, in this context!) and apparently the Chinese antiques market is currently completely down, after it started declining in 2014: a lot of dealers are out of business and prices are low. So this would be the perfect opportunity to get some (if you manage to get it legally out of the country, of course).

In addition to the article about Sweden: I wonder why only Sweden is mentioned. It's exactly the same in Norway and Denmark.

The Netherlands already had a 'total cashless solution' ready for over 20 years ago: 'pin' for payments over 5 gulden (or about $2.50), 'chipknip' for all smaller expenses: both were on the same card (magnetic stripe for pin, chip for chipknip). It's just that the total audience refused to go completely cashless that it didn't work out. Only pin worked and still works pretty good, as a lot of people don't like to go around with large sums of cash.

So yes, I stand my ground and I keep believing in a not totally cashless society!

That's one of the reasons mentioned. Another is that the supplies apparently dry up: the 'diggers' who went all over the country to find new stuff don't find anything new anymore and a lot of stuff turns out to be much less exclusive than thought (the silver hair needle was given as sample. Those go for junk value now, even if hundreds of years old). I guess that also stricter export rules in mainland China don't really help.