Betrayed by Garbo

Strange things are happening to currency and coins in Sweden. The country is rapidly shifting toward a cashless economy two years after replacing most of the coins and currency in circulation.

I discovered this state of affairs on a recent visit when trying to access a train station men’s room with newly-invalidated currency (retained from a prior visit). “Your money is no good anymore,” said the attendant. “No, YOUR money is no good anymore,” I wanted to reply – but was too confused to grasp what was happening.

I have subsequently learned of Sweden’s determined and so-far successful effort to reduce the amount of currency in circulation two years after replacing the existing currency. Coincident with this effort has come the rise of a popular app-based cashless system called Swish.

(It's worth noting that Sweden is very good at this business of switching. The country famously switched from right-hand to left-hand drive automobiles and roads in 1967.)

I further learned that there is keen interest in shifting the economy to an official digital currency to prevent the majority of economic activity moving entirely to private third parties such as Visa and Mastercard. In that vein, hackers hijacked the Twitter account of Sweden’s ruling political party on Monday, April 15th, 2019, in order to announce that Sweden’s official currency had been switched to Bitcoin. The bogus announcement remained live for approximately 30 minutes, according to some accounts, but has since been deleted.

Reports indicate a growing number of retailers and restaurants no longer accept cash. NPR reports: “Buses and trains no longer take bills or change. Nationwide rail company SJ has even started allowing customers to store digital tickets on microchips in their hands.”

 https://www.npr.org/2019/02/11/691334123/swedens-cashless-experiment-is-it-too-much-too-fast

https://www.npr.org/2018/10/22/658808705/thousands-of-swedes-are-inserting-microchips-under-their-skin

The microchip under the skin element of the cashless phenomenon may not be as widespread as reports suggest. During my recent visit, multiple Swedes scoffed at the notion of large numbers of their countrymen having chips embedded in their bodies.

Who knows? But cash isn’t the only thing Swedes are seeking to do without. I found myself struggling at the trade event I was attending to locate executives with business cards. Whether for purposes of being “green” or simply seeking to avoid the hassle, I’d say the trend to cashlessness in Sweden is matched only by the move toward cardless business interactions. I survived...writing down email addresses on the backs of my own cards.

I’ve been around long enough as an industry analyst to remember the days when office tech experts were forecasting the onset of the paperless office. That clearly is about as likely as the paperless bathroom. For now, I will keep my business cards and my cash.

Of course, this is all a prelude to the focal point of the event I was attending – driverless cars. So, clearly, Sweden has become the land of less or perhaps the land where less is more. As for the currency, my now-worthless 100 Kronor notes depicting botanist Carl von Linne (Linneaus) have been replaced by 100 Kronor notes graced with the image of Greta Garbo. That, at least, is definitely an improvement. 

So, Sweden, enjoy your new currency but you can keep the microchips. I am not going to let this cashless push get under my skin.