Sweden is moving towards an increasingly cashless economy.

But German and British tourists are complaining, they want to pay in cash.

The restaurant industry has started to do like the banks. They simply refuse to accept banknotes and coins.

”Nowadays, quite a few restaurants and bars don't take cash, so it seems like most people have gotten used to it,” says Heidi Wold at Scandic Hotels, which made the chain's restaurants and bars cashless two years ago.

But it's not the big hotel bills and expensive restaurant bills that are the problem when you listen to tourists' complaints. What many Germans and Britons want to solve with cash are all small purchases, according to Ewa Lagerqvist, CEO of Visit Sweden, which markets Sweden abroad on behalf of the state and the tourism industry.

”"In Germany, they use quite a lot of cash and you're used to it. When Germans come here, they want to stick with that system," she says.

Germans want to avoid fees that banks charge for card purchases, but they also use deep-rooted privacy motives when reasoning about why they want to be able to use cash. Among the British, it is more purely the bank fees that irritate, according to Lagerqvist.

Another criticism among some tourists is that payment systems are used that require a Swedish bank account or Swedish mobile phone subscription, which excludes foreign consumers.

Mats Hedenström, head of business policy at the Swedish Chamber of Commerce, urges Swedish businesses to listen to what customers want – including foreign visitors.

”"We are talking about large groups that have very strong purchasing power, so it is clear that it is very interesting for us in retail to get them to spend their money in Sweden."”

He expects the retreat of cash in retail to continue. But he finds it difficult to imagine an economy where banknotes and coins are completely phased out.

”"That last step, which makes us completely cashless, I think will take time – not least depending on foreign visitors.".

Card payments are the clearly dominant payment model in Sweden instead of cash, although mobile apps are also spreading.

”"Approximately 90 percent of all payments in the hospitality industry are made via card. We are slightly ahead of retail, where it is a little more than 80 percent. But the curve is going straight up," says Clemens Wantschura, head of security at the hospitality industry's trade association Visita.

He points to cheaper administration, reduced risk of robbery and the elimination of the black economy as the main reasons behind the trend.

”"It reduces the interest of criminal groups that previously liked the restaurant industry, as it was good for them to launder money. Today, that is no longer the case," says Wantschura.

TT: If you land in Stockholm in ten years, can you use cash then?

”"Yes, I think so. But the question is whether you can get hold of any money," says Wantschura.

”Outside the larger urban areas it will probably be quite difficult,” he adds.

Source: TT