Bankomat AB: Swedes Don’t Want a Mobile Payments-Only Society

Remember how, for a while, Sweden was on track to become the first cashless society in Europe and potentially the world? Well, not so fast, says a new study from Bankomat AB; it turns out that a healthy majority of Swedes studied would rather have the option to pay in cash, and this may be the most prudent stance to take.

The Bankomat AB study found that 68 percent of respondents, better than two out of three, want cash as at least an option in the future. That compares to just 25 percent who want an absolutely cashless society, and the remaining seven percent either have no real opinion on the matter or find the whole thing too complex to be readily decided.

Not surprisingly, there are clear differences among demographic lines, particularly age. Eighty-five percent of the over-65 crowd want cash as an option, but even 56 percent of the 18 – 29 year old market is interested in keeping paper currency around as at least a backup option. Thirty-eight percent of that market, however, wants a purely cashless society.

Johan Nilsson, Bankomat’s customer and marketing manager, noted “There are many benefits of switching to digital payment services, but the conversion also poses a risk that those who rely on cash can have difficulties. This applies especially to small businesses and associations, as well as older and function-oriented people.”

That’s the issue in a nutshell. Yes, mobile payments have a lot of advantages, but let’s be honest: the second the power goes out for anything more than, say, an hour, either we switch to something else or no one buys anything. Until the power comes back on. If I’m a small business, a brick-and-mortar shop, then I’m not about to stake my entire profitability on a continually-running electrical system. I know how easy it is for a squirrel to bite a wire or a raccoon to get too inquisitive around a transformer or a car to slide off the road and into a power pole on an icy day.

I want that backup option.

Based on the results of this study, meanwhile, a lot of Swedes seem to want it too, and in numbers large enough that the whole “cashless society” concept could stand some reconsidering.