At a public toilet in a shopping centre in Gothenburg, a struggle is taking place between old and new Sweden. Last year, the the shopping centre installed cash-free toilets, forcing customers to pay with their mobile phones – a process new to most.
“I was in a hurry, I really needed to go,” said Freda, 28, after a visit. “It was all a bit confusing, but I never carry cash, so I am just pleased I could get in.”
A succession of older customers turned away in bewilderment or disgust. “It’s just wrong,” said Tilda, 69.
Sweden is one of the most cash-free societies in the world. The proportion of cash payments in the retail sector fell from about 40% in 2010 to about 15% in 2016, according to Sweden’s central bank. Two-thirds of consumers say they completely manage without cash; just as many say they mostly use cards even for payments under 100 kronor (£9).
More than half the nation’s bank branches no longer take or issue cash. Many stores greet the shopper with notices that they no longer accept hard currency.
As a result, the total value of cash payments in the economy has fallen to less than 2% of GDP. “In the not-too-distant future, Sweden may become a society in which cash is no longer generally accepted,” the Swedish central bank has said.
And now, even public conveniences are going digital. It could be said that for cash, the writing is on the toilet wall. CoinCode, a tech startup based in Uppsala, is endeavouring to give a whole new meaning to “spending a penny”.
Their battery-operated gadget is fixed to existing locks – you scan a quick response code on the toilet door or send a text message to the company and, in each case, you get a one-off combination to type into the lock.
“Toilets are a big part of our business,” says CoinCode’s Christer Granath. “Coins have a cost – you need to have someone to collect them, you need to store and bank the cash, and there is always a risk of theft.”
Sweden recently changed its coinage, giving a further incentive for public places to do away with coin-operated toilets altogether. McDonald’s has installed the cash-free pay toilets in some of its Swedish outlets.
The trend away from cash has prompted the bank to investigate whether Sweden should become the world’s first economy to introduce a cryptocurrency, the e-krona. Its concern is that money deposits could entirely bypass the security of the central bank, undermining the country’s payment system and leaving people vulnerable in a financial crisis.
For more read the full of article at The Guardian
