1、 SVERIGES RIKSBANK Payments Report 20242 Table of contents 1 Trends in the payments market 8 1.1 Payment habits in Sweden 9 1.2 Cash is rarely used and the supply of cash services is decreasing 14 1.3 Transfers abroad are perceived as safe but expensive 18 1.4 The digitalisation of payments is a glo

2、bal trend 21 2 Safety,efficiency and accessibility 27 2.1 Are payments in Sweden safe?28 2.2 Are payments in Sweden efficient?36 2.3 Are payments in Sweden accessible?42 3 The Riksbanks work and policy 45 3.1 Everyone must be able to pay 46 3.2 Payments should work even in crisis and war 48 3.3 Mode

3、rnisation of the payment infrastructure necessary 51 3.4 More measures needed to protect cash 55 3.5 Work on the e-krona continues 59 Glossary 62 Payments Report The Payments Report describes and analyses developments in the payments market over the past year.It presents the Riksbanks assessments an

4、d policy stance in the area of payments.The aim is to disseminate knowledge and to contribute to debate,and make it easier for external parties to monitor,understand and evaluate the Riks-banks work on payments.Between the years 2019 and 2022,the report was pub-lished annually at the end of the year

5、.From 2024 onwards,it will instead be published in the spring.No Payments Report was published in 2023.Published 14 March 2024.The Executive Board adopted the 2024 Payments Report on 6 March 2024.This report is intended primarily to be read digitally at riksbank.se.3 The Riksbanks responsibility for

6、 payments The Riksbanks objective is for payments in Sweden to be safe,efficient and accessible.Payments shall also function in peacetime crisis situations and states of heightened alert.The Riksbank takes an economic perspec-tive and provides solutions and acts where it is difficult to attain the o

7、b-jectives without central government involvement.The Riksbanks mandate in the area of payments According to the Instrument of Government,the Riksbank shall promote a well-func-tioning payment system.Pursuant to the Sveriges Riksbank Act,the Riksbank shall“contribute to the stability and efficiency

8、of the financial system,including the ability of the public to make payments”.The Riksbank shall provide a system for the settle-ment of payments,contribute to the availability of cash to a satisfactory extent throughout Sweden,and ensure that the public can make payments in peacetime cri-sis situat

9、ions and states of heightened alert.The Riksbank may,with the consent of the Riksdag,issue digital means of payment.The following objectives guide the Riksbanks work on payments Payments must be safe.The payment system must be stable,resilient to disruptions in normal times and able to function in p

10、eacetime crises and states of heightened alert.It should be possible to use multiple payment methods so that payments can be made even if there is a disruption in any part of the payment system.Protection against fraud should be high.The payer and payee must be confident that the pay-ment will be re

11、ceived and that the cash received is genuine,and that identityand card details are not disclosed and used by unauthorised persons.Payments must be efficient.The costs to society,including energy consumption,for different methods of payment should be low.Fees should be transparent and pay-ments shoul

12、d be quick and easy.There should also be healthy competition between operators offering payment services.This means,among other things,that the pay-ment system must be accessible to different types of actors who want to offer pay-ment services.Payments must be accessible.It should be possible for ev

13、eryone in Sweden to pay at a reasonable cost.Users must have good access to payment services and there must be different payment methods to choose between,depending on the situation and con-ditions.The objectives of safe,efficient and accessible payments can sometimes be recon-ciled,but they can als

14、o be in conflict with each other.4 The Riksbanks role in the payments market The Riksbank takes an economic perspective and provides solutions and acts where it is difficult to achieve high economic efficiency without central government involve-ment.The payments market is characterised by economies

15、of scale and network ef-fects,which can lead to a high degree of market concentration and a lack of competi-tion and innovation.The characteristics of the payments market also mean that acces-sibility and resilience may be too weak without central government involvement.The Riksbank therefore needs

16、to take an active role in the payments market.In some cases,this involves the Riksbank providing services,either on its own or in cooperation with private operators,such as finalising payments between participants in the RIX payment system.In other cases,the Riksbank acts as a catalyst,enabling coor

17、dination,dialogue and creating conditions for private services and solutions.The Riksbank can also act as a standard setter.In addition,the Riksbank takes part in the design of regulations nationally and internationally.The Riksbank also oversees finan-cial infrastructures and other key players in t

18、he payments ecosystem and monitors developments in the payments market.5 Conclusions and policy recommendations The Swedish payments market has been digitalised at a rapid pace.Cash and manual payment services have been replaced by cards,mobile phones and internet services.As a result,payments in ge

19、neral have become faster,smoother and cheaper a posi-tive development.However,there are groups in society that do not have access to,or find it difficult to use,digital payment services and who therefore become marginal-ised.There are also serious problems of fraud that risk undermining trust in the

20、 pay-ments system.Digitalisation also makes payments more vulnerable to cyber-attacks and disruptions to the electricity grid and data communications.At the same time,the geopolitical de-velopments of recent years require Sweden to have a strong civil defence.The ability to make payments should also

21、 be available in peacetime crisis situations and states of heightened alert.Developments suggest that we should focus more than previously on the challenges posed by digitalisation.This concerns both the resilience of the payment system in the event of disruptions,crises and wars,and the ability of

22、everyone in society to pay.Both public and private actors must contribute to these goals.However,this does not mean that the development of payments and payment infrastructure can stop.Swe-den needs to keep up with international developments and remain at the forefront.To make payments in Sweden eve

23、n safer,more efficient and more accessible,the Riksbank considers the following measures to be necessary.Banks and other payment service providers need to tailor their services to the needs of their customers More private persons,companies and associations must be offered the possi-bility to have pa

24、yment accounts.A payment account is essential to be able to manage ones finances and function in society.Many are excluded because they are considered risky customers.The Riksbank considers that the banks must primarily minimise these risks by,for example,offering accounts with limited function,so-c

25、alled low-risk accounts.Banks and other payment service providers must adapt their payment ser-vices for people who have difficulty using digital services.These include offer-ing customers affordable over-the-counter payments,paying by postal giro or making greater use of technological innovations s

26、uch as biometrics for pay-ments and identification.Banks need to set individual limits on how much cash companies and associa-tions can deposit in an account based on their actual needs.This shall also ap-ply to coin deposits.Increasingly,banks are only accepting deposits of daily takings from compa

27、nies and associations via deposit machines,which often have low amount limits and generally do not accept coins.This makes it more 6 difficult for companies and associations to deposit their daily takings in an ac-count and may lead to even more of them no longer accepting cash.The privately owned p

28、ayment infrastructure in Sweden needs to be modern-ised,especially Bankgirot.For a continued efficient and safe infrastructure,Swedish payments need to follow European standards.In September 2023,Bankgirot received a clear mandate from its owner banks to ensure that the Swedish payment infrastructur

29、e functions well in both the short and long term,which is positive.The banks now need to ensure that Bankgirot is given the prerequisites to develop and has staff with the necessary technical exper-tise for this task.Banks need to develop more payment services to instantly move money be-tween accoun

30、ts in different banks.Today,this can only be done via the Swish payment service.The banks should make it possible to also make such pay-ments via mobile or online banking.This would create opportunities for other payment service providers to develop new services for private persons and companies,the

31、reby strengthening competition in the payments market.The Riksbank has enabled the banks to offer this type of payment service through the RIX-INST payment system.The Riksbank continues to enhance preparedness in the payment system Participants in the payments market should have a high joint capabil

32、ity to continue to process payments in peacetime crisis situations and states of heightened alert.Through regulations,the Riksbank now requires companies to be able to maintain their own payment operations.The next step is to work with companies to strengthen the joint capability.The Riksbank will t

33、ake a leading role in the work to improve the possibilities to pay digitally even when data communication is not working,i.e.to make offline payments.The Riksbank will convene relevant actors in the private and public sectors to contribute to the work.More types of payments can now go through the Ri

34、ksbanks RIX payment sys-tem,making them both safer and more efficient,and the payment messages are being adapted to international standards.The Riksbank is also continuing its work on modernising RIX,and is investigating whether more actors can gain access to RIX in order to increase competition on

35、the payments market.The Riksbank is also working to ensure that RIX contributes to faster and cheaper cross-border payments.Instant payments are account transfers that can be made around the clock and reach the payees account within seconds.Currently,only Swish offers such payments in Sweden.The EU

36、has recently adopted legislation to encour-age more instant payments in euro.In order to support the development of new fast payment services and not fall behind European developments,the Riksbank considers that it may be relevant to regulate the development of in-stant payments in Sweden as well.Th

37、e Riksbank will therefore analyse the 7 need for legislation.The Riksdag and the Government should also examine the issue.By establishing new offices where companies can collect and deposit cash,the Riksbank is continuing to improve the supply of cash.Having such stocks of cash in more locations acr

38、oss the country reduces both the costs for com-panies and the risk that cash would be difficult to use in the event of a disrup-tion.The Riksbank is continuing to work on the e-krona,which can be part of a long-term solution to many of the challenges of digitalisation.For example,the e-krona can con

39、tribute to a more robust payment system and be a tool to strengthen inclusion in the payments market.The e-krona can also create better conditions for competition in the payments market and make pay-ments between different currencies more efficient.Legislative work needs to start now to ensure that

40、it does not take too long to introduce an e-krona if the Riksdag so decides.The Riksbank will therefore submit proposals on what legislation may be needed for the possible intro-duction of an e-krona.The Government and Riksdag should introduce new laws on cash management As a general rule,merchants

41、selling essential goods must be obliged to accept cash,both to ensure that everyone can pay and to be able to cope with a peacetime crisis situation or state of heightened alert.The Riksbank is there-fore in favour of the Government appointing an inquiry to investigate the possibility of paying for

42、essential goods in cash.It should lead to stronger le-gal protection for cash.The Government should extend the remit of the inquiry into the possibility of paying for essential goods in cash.For example,for cash to be used,it needs to be able to be transported to and from retail outlets at reasonabl

43、e prices.Today,there is only one company offering such cash-in-transit services.Gov-ernment investigators should make proposals on how banks and the public sector should share responsibility for this,including how cash-in-transit ser-vices should be maintained and financed when cash is used less and

44、 it be-comes more difficult to offer such services on commercial grounds.The Riksdag and the Government should introduce an obligation for banks to accept deposits of cash,including coins,from private persons.At present,there is no requirement for banks to offer this,and if nothing is done,there is

45、a risk of deposit possibilities deteriorating.8 1 Trends in the payments market In Sweden,more and more people are choosing to pay by mobile phone.Services that integrate the payment card into a mobile phone are in-creasingly being used instead of physical cards and almost everyone in Sweden has acc

46、ess to the Swish payment app.At the same time,cash use continues to decline.The digitalisation of the payments market is a global trend.Sweden was an early adopter of Swish,but now our neigh-bouring countries have come further and offer more ways to pay in-stantly.They also have a higher proportion

47、of instant payments than we have in Sweden.The digitalisation is also reflected in the fact that most central banks are now exploring a digital complement to cash-what in Sweden is called the e-krona.9 1.1 Payment habits in Sweden Whether shopping in stores,online or paying bills,most people want to

48、 pay digitally.Physical cards have long been the most common method of payment in Sweden,but in recent years more and more people have started integrating their card into their mobile phone.The Riksbanks survey of payment habits The Riksbanks survey of payment habits provides a picture of how privat

49、e persons pay in Sweden and how payment habits change over time.The survey has been con-ducted every two years between 2010 and 2022.As the Riksbanks Payments Report will be published in the spring from 2024 onwards,the Riksbank conducted the latest survey on payment habits in the autumn of 2023 so

50、that there would be no more than two years between surveys.2,050 randomly selected people aged 18-84 responded to the survey.1,549 people responded via online questionnaires and 501 via telephone interviews.The survey was conducted between 4 and 29 September 2023.The survey responses have been weigh

51、ted by gender,age,region and education to re-flect the population of Sweden.Figures from the 2023 survey can be found at riks-bank.se.The mobile phone is becoming more important for all types of payments For many years,physical debit cards have been the most widely used payment method in Sweden.In r

52、ecent years,mobile payment services have also become popu-lar.For example,the mobile app Swish is now the second most common payment method.Services that integrate cards into mobile phones,such as Apple Pay and Sam-sung Pay,are also becoming more common,leading to a slight decrease in the use of phy

53、sical cards.According to the Riksbanks survey,eight out of ten have used a debit 10 card in the past month.About the same number have used Swish,while two out of ten have used a card in their mobile phone.You can see this in Figure 1.Figure 1.Most common to pay by card and Swish Percentage of respon

54、dents who have paid by each payment method over the past 30 days.Note:Several responses were possible.Source:The Riksbank.The Riksbanks survey on payment habits also gives the impression that cash has been used more than before.Almost half of the respondents say that they have used cash in the last

55、month,which is an increase of 15 percentage points compared to 2022.At the same time,other data show that the use of cash has rather continued to decline,reflecting the trend we have seen for several years.For example,withdrawals from Bankomat ABs ATMs decreased in 2023,as you can see in Figure 2,an

56、d the amount of cash in circulation decreased by 10 per cent over the same period.Also according to data from the Cash Handling Advisory Board,the use of cash seems to have contin-ued to decline.One possible explanation for the increased use of cash despite other data showing the opposite could be t

57、hat private persons have used cash buffers that they withdrew after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022(see Many withdrew cash after Russias invasion of Ukraine).It is too early,however,to draw any clear conclusions about this development.020406080100CashDebit cardSwishApple P

58、ay,Samsung Pay etc.2002311 Figure 2.Cash withdrawals decreasing over time Withdrawals and deposits via Bankomat ABs ATMs and deposit machines,value in SEK per capita and month.Note:The figure shows only withdrawals and deposits via Bankomat ABs ATMs.There are also other operators of ATMs

59、and deposit machines that are not represented in the figure.Withdrawals and deposits via e.g.stores or bank branches are also not represented.Source:Bankomat.se.More and more people paying in store by card in their mobile phone More and more people are choosing not to use a physical card in favour o

60、f services that integrate the card into a mobile phone,such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.In the Riksbanks survey in 2023,63 per cent stated that they had paid by debit card for their last in-store purchase,which is 10 percentage points lower than in 2022.At the same time,9 per cent said they had pai

61、d with their card in their mobile phone,almost double compared to 2022.The most important reason why more people pay by mo-bile phone is that it is perceived as easy and convenient.As Figure 3 shows,it is still uncommon to use Swish for in-store purchases.One possi-ble explanation for this is that S

62、wish payments have not yet been fully integrated into the physical retail trade,for example in in-store cash register systems,and are there-fore a relatively slow option compared with card payments,for example.0200400600800324WithdrawalDeposit12 Figure 3.In-store purchases usually made by

63、 debit card Percentage of people paying by each payment method for their last in-store purchase,2023.Source:The Riksbank.Swish on the rise in e-commerce E-commerce has grown significantly in recent years and received an extra boost dur-ing the pandemic.The Riksbanks latest survey shows that 75 per c

64、ent have shopped online in the past month.This is an increase of almost 20 percentage points since 2018.The result for 2023 is in line with 2022,indicating that the shopping habits es-tablished during the pandemic are continuing.The most common payment methods in e-commerce are debit cards,followed

65、by Swish and buy-now-pay-later services,as you can see in Figure 4.According to the Riksbanks survey,it has become more common to use physical debit cards and Swish online.Mobile card payments have almost tripled compared to 2022,but from a low level.In contrast,the use of buy-now-pay-later services

66、 has decreased by 15 percent-age points compared to 2022.According to a report from Finansinspektionen,a possi-ble explanation for this could be that in 2020 the Swedish Riksdag introduced new rules for the marketing of online payment services.The rules mean that payment op-tions on e-commerce sites

67、 that involve consumers shopping on credit cannot be dis-played first or pre-selected if other payment methods are available.020406080CashDebit cardCredit cardSwishApple Pay,Samsung Payetc.13 Figure 4.Debit cards and Swish most commonly used for e-commerce payments Percentage of people paying by eac

68、h payment method in e-commerce over the past 30 days,2023.Note:Several responses were possible.Direct payments are payments where the payer follows a link from the online store to the online bank,where the payment is made directly.The quest-ion on buy-now-pay-later services has been reworded since t

69、he previous survey,which may affect the results.Source:The Riksbank.Bills are mostly paid digitally The vast majority of people have been paying their bills digitally for several years.In the Riksbanks latest survey on payment habits,less than 5 per cent reported that they had used non-digital servi

70、ces such as postal giro and cash over the counter to pay bills in the past month.About six in ten had used direct debit and e-invoice.In re-cent years,paying bills digitally has become even faster and easier,and it often only takes a few keystrokes to authorise a bill to be paid on the due date.This

71、 is possible both thanks to digital mailboxes where invoices are sent and the possibility for third-party providers to access the customers bank account to schedule an invoice pay-ment on a specific date.A quick and easy way to pay for subscription services such as streaming services and newspaper s

72、ubscriptions is called recurring card payments.The Riksbanks survey shows that almost seven out of ten have one or more recurring subscription services that are paid for by card each month.Younger people have more of them than older people.01020304050Debit cardCredit cardSwishBuy now paylaterDirect

73、paymentApple-,Samsung Payetc.14 1.2 Cash is rarely used and the supply of cash services is decreasing The use of cash has been decreasing for many years.At the same time,more and more people recognise the importance of cash for society,es-pecially in a crisis situation when digital payment methods m

74、ay not work.The supply of cash services has deteriorated and is increasingly auto-mated.Few people pay by cash in stores The use of cash has been declining rapidly in Sweden for several years,as you can see in Figure 5.However,the Riksbanks latest survey on payment habits shows a slight increase in

75、the use of cash 10 per cent said they paid cash for their last in-store pur-chase in 2023,compared to 8 per cent in 2022.However,as described in Section 1.1,other data suggest that the use of cash instead continues to decline.One possible ex-planation for the increase is that in 2023 private persons

76、 have used cash buffers with-drawn in the context of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine.15 Figure 5.One in ten paid cash for their last in-store purchase Percentage of people who paid cash for their last in-store purchase.Source:The Riksbank.More people have a negative attitude to the decline in

77、 cash use Although few people pay in cash,an increasing number of people have a negative atti-tude to the decline in cash use 44 per cent in 2023 compared to 36 per cent in 2022.The proportion of respondents stating that they would not be able to cope without cash in todays society has also increase

78、d compared to 2022.This may be an effect of increased crisis awareness due to the war in Ukraine.The function of cash as a backup solution when cards and digital payment methods may not work is cited as an im-portant reason why people would not manage without cash.It also highlights the need to be a

79、ble to pay in cash in certain situations,such as to associations,in small stores and at flea markets.Some also emphasise that using cash makes it easier for them to keep track of their finances.Older people find it significantly more difficult to manage without cash than younger people.Half experien

80、ce problems paying in cash In the 2023 survey,half of the respondents said they had wanted to pay in cash but the store did not accept it.The corresponding figure in 2022 was 37 per cent.One ex-planation for the increase could be that more people have tried to use cash to get rid of the cash buffers

81、 built up in the context of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine,but it is also possible that more stores have stopped accepting cash.There are no comprehensive statistics on how many stores accept cash.The Swedish Trade Federation carries out surveys among its members,which recently showed that a

82、lmost nine out of ten merchants accept cash and that the acceptance of cash in the non-durable goods segment,mainly grocery stores,is slightly higher than in the dura-ble goods segment.However,many stores,such as pharmacies,are not members of the Swedish Trade Federation.Restaurants,hairdressers and

83、 public transport are not 0020002316 included in the Swedish Trade Federations figures either.To obtain a more compre-hensive picture of the extent to which cash is accepted by business operators in Swe-den,the Riksbank intends to investigate this on a regular basis

84、in the future.Supply of cash services is decreasing Private persons,companies and associations need to be able to withdraw and deposit cash into their accounts and sometimes get help to pay bills in cash.Since 2016,the supply of such services has decreased,as you can see in Figure 6.However,this de-

85、crease has slowed down over the last two years.This may be related to the fact that,since 2021,some banks have a shared responsibility to provide places where private persons can withdraw cash and where companies and associations can deposit their daily takings.The Swedish Post and Telecom Authority

86、(PTS)is responsible for super-vising the banks to ensure they take this responsibility.Figure 6.The supply of cash services has decreased over time Number of locations for cash withdrawals,deposits of daily takings and over-the-counter payments.Note:Withdrawal locations include 1,265 ICA stores that

87、 offer cash withdrawals to ICA Bank and Swedbank customers subject to cash on hand.Source:Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth Pinpoint Sweden Service Analysis,February 2024.However,banks have no obligation,for example,to help their customers pay their bills in cash.Today,this service is

88、available in only 139 locations in the country,of which 113 are savings bank branches.If you are not a customer of a savings bank of-fering cash services,you can only get help to pay bills in cash at the company Change-Groups 26 branches,which are mainly located in southern Sweden.Neither are banks

89、obliged to offer solutions for private persons to deposit cash into an account.There are currently no comprehensive statistics on the number and location of such deposit points.According to Bankomat ABs map,it had 391 deposit machines 0 5001 0001 5002 0002 5003 0003 5004 0004 5005 0002002

90、22024DagskasseinsttningUttagsplatserBetalningsfrmedling ver disk p bank eller ombud17 in the country in February 2024.However,these only accept banknotes and not coins.Customers of ICA Bank and Swedbank can also deposit cash at the checkout in most ICA stores.Cash services are automated Cash service

91、s in Sweden increasingly consist of ATMs and deposit machines,while forms of service such as manual cash services are declining.All major banks have stopped offering cash services over the counter in their branches and only some sav-ings banks still do so in a total of 126 branches,according to the

92、Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growths Pinpoint Sweden Service Analysis.In addition,ICA Bank offers its own and Swedbanks customers withdrawal and deposit facilities at the checkout in most ICA stores.However,customers can withdraw a maximum of around SEK 2,000 per withdrawal and only subj

93、ect to the amount of cash in the stores cash register.Places where companies can deposit their daily takings are also increasingly made up of automated deposit machines,as you can see in Figure 7.The Riksbank has received indications that companies feel that the upper limit for the amount of cash th

94、ey can deposit in these machines is low.This risks making it more difficult for companies that handle cash,which you can read more about in Section 2.1.Figure 7.Deposit machines becoming increasingly common for daily takings deposits Locations for deposit of daily takings,number per type of service.

95、Source:Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth Pinpoint Sweden Service Analysis,December 2023.02004006008002000222023ServiceboxInsttningsautomatver disk hos ombudBankkassa18 1.3 Transfers abroad are perceived as safe but expensive Foreign-born individuals are more likel

96、y to make transfers to private per-sons abroad than the Swedish population as a whole.The most common way of transferring money abroad is through the bank and most feel that transfers are quick and safe.However,the vast majority find it expensive.Private persons make cross-border payments when shopp

97、ing while travelling abroad,buying things from abroad online,sending money to relatives in other countries and in many other situations.Companies and public authorities make cross-border pay-ments when,for example,they buy equipment and services from abroad.In this section,we take a deep dive into o

98、ne particular type of cross-border payment-transfers to private persons abroad,often defined as remittances.Remittances are an important source of income for many countries,but statistics on their volume are of-ten of low quality.This is described in the article Remittances-the overlooked pay-ments.

99、In order to improve statistics and increase the understanding of remittance flows from Sweden,the Riksbank has therefore conducted a survey on how foreign-born individuals send money to private persons abroad.19 Riksbanks survey on cross-border payments The Riksbanks survey on cross-border payments

100、provides a picture of which countries private persons in Sweden send money to,how they send money and how they per-ceive it to work.Foreign-born persons tend to make more cross-border payments than the Swedish population as a whole,especially foreign-born persons in vulnerable areas.In the 2024 Paym

101、ents Report,we present the results for the target group of foreign-born persons in vulnerable areas between 18 and 79 years of age.306 people took part in the survey,60 per cent of whom were born outside Europe.They were randomly recruited via text message and completed an online survey.The collecti

102、on period for the survey was between 26 September and 16 October 2023 and this is the first time the Riksbank has conducted it.Figures from the survey can be found at riks-bank.se.More common for foreign-born persons to send money abroad According to the Riksbanks surveys,foreign-born persons in vul

103、nerable areas are much more likely to send money abroad than the population as a whole.Just over 60 per cent have made a transfer to another private persons abroad at some point dur-ing the year,which is almost four times more than the national average in the Riks-banks survey on payment habits.Fore

104、ign-born individuals in vulnerable areas are most likely to send money to other private persons in Europe,followed by Asia and Africa.The most common amounts sent are between SEK 500 and 2,000.Transfers abroad are perceived as safe and easy,but expensive Most people feel it is easy and safe to send

105、money abroad,as shown in Figure 8.Many also feel that the money reaches the payee quickly and that the information about the cost and when the payment reaches the payee is clear.On the other hand,more than 75 per cent think that sending money abroad is expensive.20 Figure 8.Sending money abroad is p

106、erceived as safe,fast and easy but expensive Percentage of respondents who think the following statements are fairly or very true,2023.Source:The Riksbank.There are several reasons why cross-border payments are more expensive than do-mestic payments.For example,the payment process usually includes m

107、ore steps,such as currency exchange,and involves more actors than domestic payments.How-ever,there is extensive international work under way to improve cross-border pay-ments,which you can read more about in Section 2.2.The Riksbank is also working on developing its payment system RIX to enable smoo

108、ther payments within Europe.It is also possible that an e-krona,if introduced,could facilitate payments between differ-ent currencies.You can read more about the Riksbanks work in Chapter 3.Most people use bank transfers to send money abroad Private persons can choose to send money abroad in differe

109、nt ways.According to the Riksbanks survey on cross-border payments,around nine out of ten use payment ser-vices offered by regulated payment service providers.The most common methods are bank transfers(38 per cent)and Western Union(29 per cent).Other uses include Pay-Pal(8 per cent),RIA(4 per cent)a

110、nd Wise(4 per cent).However,not all payment ser-vice providers offer payments to all countries,which may be one reason why bank transfer and Western Union are relatively widely used compared to other services that are often cheaper.A few stated that they use networks of money intermediaries,such as

111、hawala agents,or send money with people travelling to the recipient country.0255075100It is cheapIt is easyThe moneyreaches thepayee quicklyTheinformation isclearIt feels safe21 1.4 The digitalisation of payments is a global trend In Sweden,the payments market was digitalised early and it is clear t

112、hat the trend is now global.One reason for this is that Swedish banks were early adopters of Swish,which allows money to be transferred between bank accounts instantly via mobile phones.In Sweden,only Swish is cur-rently available for instant payments,while our neighbouring countries have more optio

113、ns.Another expression of digitalisation is that we see new digital assets such as stablecoins.In addition,most central banks are exploring a digital complement to cash-what we in Sweden call the e-krona.Digital payment methods increasing internationally In many countries,the use of debit and credit

114、cards has increased during the pan-demic.Contactless technology has helped to make card payments both faster and more convenient.In some countries,more merchants have also started accepting cards.In the euro area,the share of in-store card purchases has increased by 9 per-centage points in three yea

115、rs and today more than one in three purchases are made by card,as you can see in Figure 9.However,there are significant differences be-tween euro area countries.According to the European Central Banks Payment Attitu-des Survey 2022,almost seven out of ten people pay by card when shopping in Fin-land

116、,while just under a fifth do so in Malta.22 Figure 9.Cash use declining in the euro area Share of in-store payments by different payment methods in the euro area,percentages.Note:“Other”includes cheques,account transfers and loyalty points.Source:Study on the payment attitudes of consumers in the eu

117、ro area(SPACE)-2022(europa.eu).Both in Sweden and internationally,mobile payments have become more common,both in the form of services that are essentially a card payment,such as Apple Pay and Google Pay,and with Swish-like services for instant payments.In the United King-dom,for example,one in thre

118、e adults had access to at least one mobile phone pay-ment service in 2021,and the majority had used them.However,in the euro area,paying in stores with a mobile phone is still uncommon.As digital payment methods increase,the use of cash is decreasing globally.According to a study by the Internationa

119、l Monetary Fund,half the worlds population is using cash less and less.In the euro area,the share of cash payments has fallen by around 20 percentage points in six years,as you can see in Figure 9.The pandemic has accel-erated this trend,especially in countries with a high level of cash use relative

120、 to Swe-den.Examples include Greece,Spain and the United Kingdom.Our Nordic neighbours offer more instant payment options Instant payments are a type of payment that can be made around the clock and reaches the payees account within a few seconds.For other digital payments,such as card purchases,mon

121、ey is reserved in the payers account but the actual transfer is usually carried out later.Since 2012,in Sweden we have been able to make instant payments between different bank accounts via the Swish mobile app.Internationally,Swedish banks were early adopters of this type of payment service and it

122、quickly gained a large number of users.Since its launch,the service has evolved from just sending payments between private persons to both e-commerce and in-store shop-ping.02550752022CashCardMobile appOther23 Apart from Swish,there are currently no other services that make it possible to

123、 send Swedish kronor immediately between accounts in different banks.In our neighbour-ing countries of Denmark and Norway,however,instant payments can be made via,for example,mobile or online banking.This option is also available in the United King-dom and euro countries,depending on your bank.One a

124、dvantage of banks offering such instant account transfers is that it opens the door for other payment service pro-viders to develop new services for instant payments via,for example,open banking.This is good for competition in the payments market.Instant payments are more common in Denmark and Norwa

125、y.In these countries,in-stant payments account for an estimated 50 per cent of the total volume of account-to-account transfers,compared with 30 per cent in Sweden.In the Single Euro Pay-ments Area,known as SEPA,the share is lower.To accelerate the move towards more instant payments,the European Cou

126、ncil and the European Parliament have agreed on legislation that will oblige banks offering regular account-to-account pay-ments in euro to also offer instant payments in euro at the same price.This will also apply to banks in Sweden that offer account-to-account payments in euro,but not to payments

127、 in Swedish krona.In Sweden,from November 2024,the Riksbank will require that banks participating in the Riksbanks RIX payment system that already offer instant payments via Swish can also accept instant payments made by other means.This makes it possible to develop more instant payment services.How

128、ever,no bank is obliged to offer its customers the ability to send instant payments in Swedish krona,whether via Swish or by any other means.Payment service providers find their own solutions for instant payments There are also payment solutions that allow the payee to have money sent to their ac-co

129、unt almost instantly without any actual payment being made between banks.For example,some payment service providers offer such solutions by having accounts in several different banks and even in different countries.When the customer then makes a payment via their payment service,the money is transfe

130、rred from the payers bank account to one of the payment service providers trust accounts at the same bank.The payment service provider then initiates a transfer of the correspond-ing amount to the payees account.If the payee has a different bank from the payer,the transfer is made from the payment s

131、ervice providers account in the same bank.For the end user,it usually does not matter how the underlying technology for differ-ent payment methods works.But there are advantages to having payments made di-rectly between the payers and payees accounts at different banks.This reduces risks for the ban

132、ks.There are also efficiency aspects which we discuss in Section 2.2.New types of digital assets are being developed Digitalisation has led to the development of new types of digital assets.Cryptoassets,or cryptocurrencies,such as Bitcoin have been around for many years and have be-come increasingly

133、 popular for speculative investments.However,they are rarely used 24 for payment.In the Riksbanks survey on payment habits,2 per cent of respondents stated that they have paid in Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency in the past 30 days.Another type of cryptocurrency that has received a lot of attention

134、 in recent years is so-called stablecoins.They are a kind of cryptocurrency intended to maintain a stable value over time,often by being pegged to a national currency.This sets them apart from many other cryptocurrencies that fluctuate freely,such as Bitcoin.Stablecoins have primarily been used as a

135、 means of payment in the crypto world,i.e.on a different technical infrastructure to the traditional financial infrastructure.When trading other cryptocurrencies,it is also common for payment to be made in stable-coins.Stablecoins issued on well-established platforms can be widely distributed In rec

136、ent years,companies with large platforms and many users have taken an inter-est in stablecoins.In 2019,for example,the Libra Association(now Diem Association)announced that it would issue a stablecoin on Facebooks(now Metas)platforms.However,the plan was never realised.In a more recent example,last

137、year the com-pany PayPal launched a stablecoin linked to the US dollar.Unlike many other stable-coin issuers,PayPal targets a broad audience and areas of use including everyday pay-ments.It is also an established player in the payments market with an existing infra-structure and a large customer bas

138、e.Their stablecoin therefore has the potential to be widely distributed.Widespread use of stablecoins may pose risks If many people were to start using stablecoins for everyday payments on a large scale,there could be risks.In particular,the effectiveness of monetary policy may be re-duced if the pu

139、blic makes extensive use of stablecoins pegged to other non-domestic currencies.The risks of stablecoins are discussed in more detail in the box“PayPals new stablecoin”in Financial Stability Report 2023:2.The risks associated with stablecoins can be addressed through regulation,and there are interna

140、tional guidelines on how to design such regulation.However,the United States,for example,lacks regulation of cryptocurrencies at the federal level,which has been highlighted as a problem by the European Central Bank,among others.In the EU,there is a new regulation,the MiCA Regulation,which addresses

141、 the risks of stablecoins by,for example,limiting the extent to which stablecoins can be distrib-uted in the Union.You can read more about the MiCA Regulation in the box“New rules can contribute to payments market objectives”in Section 2.3.Work on a digital euro is progressing rapidly Central banks

142、around the world continue to explore different aspects of central bank digital currency(CBDC),known in Sweden as the e-krona.In a survey conducted by the Bank for International Settlements(BIS),93 per cent of a total of 86 central banks surveyed said they are actively working on issues related to ce

143、ntral bank money.You can read more about CBDCs in the box“Types of central bank money”.25 Central banks have different motivations for exploring CBDCs.Often the premise is that the public should have access to state-backed money in a digital world.Moreo-ver,according to the BIS survey,many central b

144、anks believe that a CBDC can contrib-ute to a more efficient and robust payment system and smoother cross-border pay-ments.Many also argue that an attractive CBDC can prevent new types of money,such as cryptoassets or stablecoins,enticing customers to take too much risk and,in extreme cases,cause pr

145、oblems for monetary policy.The Riksbanks motivation for the e-krona is discussed in Section 3.5.The European Central Bank(ECB)is one of the central banks that is well advanced in its preparations for a CBDC,which it calls the digital euro.After having analysed the issue for the past two years,they h

146、ave now entered a preparation phase which will continue for the next year or so.When this phase is concluded,in autumn 2025,the ECB is expected to take a new decision on whether to continue preparations for the launch of a digital euro.In parallel with the ECBs work,the European Commission has devel

147、oped a legislative proposal for a digital euro,which was presented in June 2023.This type of legal framework is needed if the ECB later decides to issue a digital euro.The draft legisla-tion addresses aspects such as how users can access digital euro,design requirements and how they can be used.The

148、draft legislation is currently being negotiated among EU Member States.The Riksbank follows the ECBs work and the ongoing negotiations and the possible consequences for Sweden.For example,it is important that any e-krona is designed to be exchangeable for a digital euro.26 Different types of central

149、 bank money In Sweden,most people use money issued by a commercial bank when making pay-ments,i.e.the money they have in their bank account.But there is also money issued by the Riksbank,known as central bank money.The type of central bank money most people are familiar with is banknotes and coins.I

150、n addition,there is money held digi-tally by banks and other financial institutions at the Riksbank in accounts in the RIX payment system.These are also called reserves.Reserves are used by financial institu-tions when they pay each other.The Riksbank is often called“the banks bank”.You can read mor

151、e about the different types of money that exist today here:What is mo-ney?According to the Bank for International Settlements(BIS),almost all central banks are exploring the possibility of issuing new types of central bank digital currency(CBDC).These are normally divided into two categories.The fir

152、st and most common type is in-tended for the general public and is often referred to as“retail Central Bank Digital Currency”(rCBDC).They are intended to be used by private persons and companies for everyday payments and are what the Riksbank has explored so far in its e-krona project,which you can

153、read more about in Section 3.5.Today,only a few central banks have issued an rCBDC.These are the central banks of Nigeria,the Bahamas,Ja-maica and the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union.Many more are currently running pilot projects,including China,Russia and India.The second type of CBDC that central

154、 banks are exploring is“wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency”(wCBDC).This is a CBDC intended for transactions between banks,central banks and other financial institutions.wCBDC is very similar to reserves al-ready held by financial institutions on accounts at central banks today(e.g.as in the RIX

155、 system)and the boundaries are sometimes unclear.It is often said that wCBDC would be issued on a technical infrastructure other than the traditional financial infra-structure,for example on infrastructure based on distributed ledger technology(DLT),and that it could make it easier to develop new fu

156、nctions that can help improve the efficiency of payments.In addition,wCBDCs could act as risk-free money if other as-sets are traded in such an infrastructure.However,it is also possible to link the central banks existing payment system,such as RIX,with infrastructure based on DLT,for ex-ample,and t

157、hus achieve similar results.The European Central Bank,for example,has launched a project to explore with the market the pros and cons of different solutions for this.27 2 Safety,efficiency and accessibility Payments in Sweden are generally safe and efficient,but there are prob-lems with fraud and th

158、e accessibility of payment services.This has a lot to do with digitalisation,which has contributed on the one hand to faster and smoother payments,but on the other hand to some people being tricked into making payments and others being excluded if they cannot access or cope with digital services.Fur

159、thermore,the cash infrastructure is very vulnerable and the infrastructure for digital payments,in particu-lar Bankgirot,needs to be modernised to meet both current and future needs.In addition,the resilience of digital payments to disruptions should be strengthened,including by improving offline pa

160、yment options.28 2.1 Are payments in Sweden safe?Payments in Sweden are generally safe,but there are shortcomings that should be addressed.First,the cash infrastructure is entirely dependent on two private operators and is therefore highly vulnerable to changes in the market.Second,the digital payme

161、nt infrastructure is in need of mod-ernisation,especially since the banks have discontinued the P27 project that aimed to build a common Nordic payment infrastructure.Third,digi-tal payments are vulnerable to disruptions in electricity grids and data communication.In addition,fraud is increasing in

162、Sweden.What is needed for payments to be safe?The payment system must be stable,resilient to disruptions in normal times and able to function in peacetime crises and states of heightened alert.It should be possible to use multiple payment methods so that payments can be made even if there is a dis-r

163、uption in any part of the system.Protection against fraud must be high.The payer and payee must be confident that the payment will be received and that the cash re-ceived is genuine,and that sensitive information such as authentication and card de-tails are not disclosed and used by unauthorised per

164、sons.All payments need an underlying infrastructure For us to be able to pay,there needs to be an underlying infrastructure.The use of cash requires,for example,ATMs,cash-in-transit services,cash stocks and the produc-tion and destruction of banknotes.For digital payments,the Riksbanks payment sys-t

165、em RIX and the clearing organisation Bankgirot are central hubs.29 The infrastructure for digital payments has worked well in 2023 The digital payments infrastructure as a whole has functioned well in 2023.However,in spring 2023 there were disruptions that affected all or part of the payment infra-s

166、tructure on individual days.For example,the Riksbanks payment system RIX had an incident at the end of April that meant that the target for system availability could not be achieved for the year.Availability was 99.82 instead of 99.85 per cent.In addition to the incident in RIX,the systems that enab

167、le Swish payments(Bankgirot,Getswish AB and BankID)had several brief disruptions.Overall,the incidents had only a minor impact on the ability to pay digitally.Urgent need for a future-proof solution As more and more payments are made instantly,new global standards for payment messages are implemente

168、d and new players may eventually gain access to the pay-ment infrastructure,the conditions for the existing infrastructure for clearing and set-tlement of so-called retail payments are changing.To meet this development,the Riksbank is working on modernising its payment system,RIX.But there is also a

169、 need to update the privately owned infrastructure that is central to the functioning of pay-ments in Sweden.The joint Nordic banking initiative P27,which ran for several years and aimed to build a new Nordic payment infrastructure for clearing payments in Nordic currencies and euro,was discontinued

170、 in April 2023.P27 was intended to replace the existing pri-vately owned payment infrastructure,including Bankgirot.In September last year,Bankgirot announced that it had been commissioned by its owner banks to secure and modernise the existing infrastructure in Sweden and to begin work on developin

171、g so-lutions for the future.The Riksbank considers it very important that this work is priori-tised to ensure a modern and secure payment infrastructure,which you can read more about in Section 3.3.Cash infrastructure is vulnerable to market changes In order for cash services to work and for cash to

172、 be used,an underlying infrastruc-ture based on cooperation between the Riksbank,the banks and cash-in-transit com-panies is needed.In somewhat simplified terms,this infrastructure works as follows.The Riksbank manufactures new cash,destroys worn-out cash and maintains stocks(depots)where banks,bank

173、-owned companies and cash-processing companies can collect and deposit cash.Banks are collectively responsible for providing places where private persons can withdraw cash and companies can deposit cash into their accounts.The bank-owned company Bankomat AB(Bankomat)has been tasked with moni-toring

174、the availability of cash services and,if necessary,proposing measures for banks to fulfil their responsibilities.Bankomat operates a majority of all ATMs in Sweden,which you can read more about in Section 1.2.Bankomat also have private banknote depots for its own use.30 Cash-in-transit companies wor

175、k on behalf of the Riksbank,banks,stores,Bankomat and other companies.They sort,count,register and transport cash.Loomis Sverige AB(Loomis)is currently the only cash-in-transit com-pany in Sweden.In addition,Loomis is responsible for the majority of all ser-vice boxes,which account for just under ha

176、lf of all daily takings deposit loca-tions in Sweden.You can read more about this in Section 1.2.The cash management chain can be described as both robust and vulnerable at the same time.On the one hand,there are cash depots,withdrawal and deposit points,transport vehicles and cash management centre

177、s scattered throughout the country.Cash management as a whole need not therefore be affected if individual locations are not available.On the other hand,only the Riksbank and some banks have a statutory responsibility to fulfil their parts,i.e.to issue cash(the Riksbank)and to offer a sufficient ran

178、ge of cash services to the public(the banks).For the cash management chain to work,it is important that all actors play their part in the chain and there is no legal responsibility for banks to,for example,offer cash distribution to individual companies.This type of service is also important for the

179、 functioning of infrastructure throughout the country.Those parts of the infrastructure are therefore particularly vulnerable and fully de-pendent on Loomis.Neither is there any legal requirement for private persons to be able to deposit cash into an account.Increased uncertainty in the cash managem

180、ent market going forward Cash management is associated with high fixed costs.This makes it more difficult for companies that handle cash to scale down their operations to meet reduced demand.For example,the cost of a cash transport is basically the same whether it is full or half full.At the same ti

181、me,revenues are halved.As the use of cash declines,it has become increasingly difficult for those who handle cash to make a profit.Today,Bankomat relies on Loomis to manage its private banknote depots and to re-plenish and empty ATMs.However,in November 2022,Bankomat announced that as of the second

182、half of 2025 it will start its own cash management operation and thus perform these services itself.How this will affect the market for cash management services as a whole is currently uncertain.The dominance of two private companies,Bankomat and Loomis,in the cash chain is problematic.Loomis has no

183、 statutory responsibility to offer cash services on the Swe-dish market,but the maintenance of its operations is based on profitability calcula-tions.Moreover,the fact that only two companies are active in cash management,with near monopolies in their respective parts of the market,means that it is

184、very sensitive to disruptions in their respective operations.If one of the companies is una-ble to fulfil its tasks,it is difficult for another to quickly take its place.31 Risk of automated cash management making life difficult for companies Management of daily takings in Sweden is increasingly car

185、ried out via deposit ma-chines,which you can read more about in Section 1.2.The Riksbank has received indi-cations that companies that accept cash feel that the upper limit for how much cash they can deposit in the machines on each occasion or during a certain period is too low and is on a par with

186、the amount of cash deposits that private persons can make.In addition,there is no possibility to deposit coins in the machines.Overall,this means that the situation for companies or associations handling cash has clearly deteriorated as the number of service boxes and manual deposit services has dec

187、reased.This development could make it even more costly and complicated for companies to accept cash.This,in turn,may lead to more companies choosing to stop accepting cash.It is therefore very important for the circulation of cash in society that banks do not set unreasonably low limits for deposits

188、 of daily takings.There is also a need for more possibilities for companies and associations to deposit coins into their accounts,as this is not possible in deposit machines.The payment system can be even more resilient to disruptions The payment infrastructure has worked well in 2023.However,there

189、may be disrup-tions to one or more payment methods,such as cyber-attacks or disruptions to elec-tricity grids or data communication networks.For the payment system to be robust,it is therefore important to ensure that we can pay in several different ways and to work towards making the different paym

190、ent methods resilient to different types of disruptions.We need to be able to pay in several different ways Everyone has a responsibility to prepare as best they can for a crisis.If many people are prepared,municipalities,regions and authorities can focus on helping those who have the most difficult

191、y coping,such as the elderly or the sick.Part of being prepared is being able to pay in different ways.Different payment methods have different characteristics.For example,cash can change hands without any functioning electricity or data communication,while Swish payments can be made without the pay

192、er and payee being in the same place.Moreo-ver,different payment methods are often based on different underlying technologies,which means that one may work even if the other does not.The public should there-fore have access to a variety of payment methods and business operators should in turn accept

193、 several of them to ensure that some form of payment is possible even during disruptions.In addition,it is useful for both private persons and companies to have access to several different ways of connecting to the internet.According to the authorities Crisis Information,the public is advised to:hav

194、e accounts with different banks,cards from different card networks(such as Visa and Mastercard)and access to payment services via mobile phone(such as Swish)32 have several options for internet connection(e.g.mobile data and broad-band)have multiple e-IDs,and keep cash at home in smaller denominatio

195、ns.The Riksbanks payments survey shows that almost everyone in Sweden has access to several different digital payment methods,usually debit cards and Swish.However,according to a user study from the Riksbank,many people consider it impractical and expensive to hold cash in a crisis buffer and some d

196、o not have the financial means to do so.Although the public needs to have different payment methods,it is important that in-dividual payment methods are as resilient as possible.The possibility to pay offline can be improved One way to make a payment method more resilient to disruptions is to ensure

197、 that it works offline,i.e.without functioning data communication.According to the Defence Commissions report on Swedens total defence,Kraftsamling,there may be a need for a large number of payments to be made offline in the event of major disruptions if data communications are knocked out as a resu

198、lt of a cyber-attack.However,offline payments involve risks that need to be managed.For example,there is a credit risk if a merchant sells goods without knowing whether the buyer is able to cover the pur-chase.Credit risk can be allocated in different ways between the parties in a card transaction t

199、hrough regulations and contracts.Today,it is possible to pay by card offline to some extent.But whether this works depends on the card used,the contract the payer has with the card issuer,and what kind of payment terminal the store has.One problem for cardholders is that they very rarely receive inf

200、ormation about whether their card works offline and the amounts they can pay offline.It should also be noted that it is not possible to withdraw cash from ATMs offline,for example.The Riksbank considers that the resilience of the pay-ment system would be strengthened by improving the possibilities f

201、or offline pay-ments,which you can read more about in Section 3.2.Fraud is the fastest growing type of crime in Sweden For the public to have trust in the payment system,they must feel that the system is safe.Recent years have seen a sharp increase in fraud,which risks undermining that trust.Accordi

202、ng to the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention,fraud is the category of crime that has increased the most in 2023.Among fraud offences,card fraud and fraud via social engineering have increased the most.The number of card fraud cases increased by 44 per cent from 2022.The number of card fra

203、uds increased by 44 per cent from 2022,but after having fallen over a number of years before that.You can see this in Figure 10.33 Figure 10.Card fraud and social engineering fraud on the rise Number of reported offences by type of crime and year.Note:Statistics for 2023 are preliminary.Source:Swedi

204、sh National Council for Crime Prevention.Several measures to counteract social engineering fraud A common form of fraud is the social engineering by telephone.The victims are often elderly.The fraudster often claims to be calling from the victims bank and misleads the victim into signing something w

205、ith their BankID or providing sensitive information.Text message scams are also common.According to a survey from the Swedish Bank-ers Association,more than half of the population have received scam text messages and about one per cent of the text messages lead to a completed fraud.Banks have a majo

206、r responsibility to prevent fraud and have taken a number of measures.The Swedish Bankers Association and Swedish banks launched the Svrlurad initiative to raise awareness about social engineering and how to protect yourself against frauds and scams.In addition,the Swedish Bankers Association has su

207、bmitted several petitions to the Government in 2023,including the introduction of a fraudster register and rules to counteract and hamper the manipulation of mobile and telephone numbers,also known as spoofing.Nordea has also launched savings accounts with delayed withdrawals,which should make it ea

208、sier to stop transactions when people suspect they have been victims of fraud.The fight against fraud is also a high priority for the Government.In October last year,the Government tasked Finansinspektionen with reviewing how payment service pro-viders work to prevent fraud,and in December the Swedi

209、sh Post and Telecom Author-ity was tasked with counteracting spoofing to limit fraud.The results of both tasks are to be presented on 31 May 2024.In February this year,the Government convened a meeting with the heads of the countrys largest banks.The Government wants to strengthen cooperation betwee

210、n banks and the police in order to prevent fraud against the elderly.035 00070 000105 000140 000200222023Card fraudSocial engineering34 Card fraud is often committed online The EU requires strong customer authentication for card payments,which contrib-uted to a significant reduction in re

211、ported card fraud over many years.The increase in 2022 and 2023,as you can see in Figure 10,is mainly related to fraud where the fraudster has stolen card details but does not have access to the physical card.The fraudster can then use the card details for online transactions in countries where stro

212、ng customer authentication is not required.To protect yourself against card fraud,most online banks,for example,allow you to close your card for online purchases and open it when you want to shop online.The number of counterfeit banknotes is decreasing The number of counterfeit banknotes submitted t

213、o the police has decreased from a historically high level of 6,629 in 2020 to 2,179 in 2023(see Banknote and coin statistics).Swedish banknotes have advanced security features and the counterfeits found by the police are simple copies and usually easy to distinguish from genuine banknotes(see Securi

214、ty features).However,as fewer and fewer people in Sweden use cash,the knowledge of what a banknote looks and feels like is decreasing,which increases the risk of counterfeits spreading.Cash is used for criminal purposes Since cash can be paid anonymously,it can be used to conceal crimes or criminal

215、activities.According to the Swedish Police,it is common for cash from criminal activi-ties to be taken out of Sweden to be either laundered or reinvested in crime.The fight against the criminal economy is very important.However,it is the Riksbanks view that this should not lead to stores and other c

216、ompanies ceasing to accept cash.As long as consumers and companies need and want to use cash,they should be able to do so.Amount limits can be a way to continue offering the possibility of making cash payments while making it more difficult for the criminal economy.Banks have a major responsibility

217、for consumer protection Banks have a major responsibility to protect their customers money.For example,a bank may be required to reinstate an account if a consumer has been defrauded.This depends on how the consumer has acted.According to a 2022 judgement by the Supreme Court,which was the first of

218、its kind,a bank was obliged to reinstate a con-sumers account after they had given their BankID code and the response codes from their bank PIN pad to a fraudster.The Supreme Court did not consider that the con-sumers behaviour made them liable for the entire loss from the fraud.New rules to prevent

219、 fraud in online invoice purchases As of January 2023,new rules came into force requiring strong customer authentica-tion for online invoice payments,such as for buy-now-pay-later services,to prevent fraud.The requirement was already in place for payments using,for example,debit or credit cards,Swis

220、h and bank transfers.35 Consumer protection is still weak on the crypto market Finansinspektionen and other European supervisory authorities have repeatedly warned about the risks of cryptoassets.At present,the crypto market is unregulated and therefore there is no supervision or consumer protection

221、 rules.However,the EU has adopted a new regulation to govern the crypto market in the Union.It is called MiCA and will apply from December 2024.You can read more about this in the box“New rules can contribute to payments market objectives”in Section 3.3.36 2.2 Are payments in Sweden efficient?Paymen

222、ts in Sweden are,on the whole,efficient.Digital payments cost less than cash payments and so help reduce the consumption of re-sources at the societal level.However,some types of payment have evolved more slowly than others.For example,more types of payments should be instantaneous and cross-border

223、payments need to be faster and cheaper.What is needed to ensure payments are efficient?The costs to society,including energy consumption,for different methods of payment should be low.Fees should be transparent and payments should be quick and easy.There shall also be healthy competition between ope

224、rators offering payment services.This means,among other things,that the payment system must be accessible to dif-ferent types of operators who want to offer payment services.Payments consume significant resources The economic costs of payments in Sweden in 2021 are estimated at SEK 51 billion-almost

225、 1 per cent of GDP-according to a study from the Riksbank.The economic costs have decreased over time and are in line with the costs in neighbouring coun-tries such as Norway.The study shows that card and Swish payments have the lowest cost per payment,i.e.unit cost,of SEK 4.4.This can be seen in Fi

226、gure 11.Cash has a relatively high unit cost of SEK 13.4.37 Figure 11.Card and Swish payments have the lowest cost per payment SEK per transaction,2021.Note:Swish is a subset of giro transfers but is shown separately in the figure.Cards include both debit and credit cards.Source:Payment costs in Swe

227、den,2023.(2023).There are two important factors that affect the unit cost of a payment method.Firstly,the number of payments made is of significance.When many payments are made using a particular payment method,the fixed costs,such as the costs of systems and premises,can be spread over more payment

228、s.This is called economies of scale.The fact that few people use cash today therefore explains why the unit cost of a cash payment is high and has increased compared to 2009,when the Riksbank last con-ducted a study of the costs of payments.Secondly,the amount of manual handling needed when someone

229、uses a particular payment method is also important,i.e.how long it takes to make and process a payment.This is because much of the economic cost of payments consists of the time it takes to make a payment and to receive and process payments.The automation of payment processes therefore reduces eco-n

230、omic costs.In the study that examines the costs of payments in Sweden,the Riksbank only measures the economic costs.We do not measure or assess other societal values.For example,issues such as competition,accessibility,sustainability and the availability of multiple payment methods in the event of a

231、 crisis or war are also issues to consider if a full economic analysis of different payment methods is to be carried out.Banks costs for payments Digital payment services cost less for banks than manual payment services,including cash.Between 2009 and 2021,banks costs have decreased,especially the c

232、ost of cash.This has reduced the banks annual costs by around SEK 2.7 billion,or 80 per cent.This is partly because the use of cash has decreased and partly because the banks now let Bankomat AB operate all the banks ATMs.In addition,all major banks have stopped handling cash at their branches.04812

233、16CashCardCredit transferSwishHouseholdsCompaniesPayment service providers38 The unit cost of bank transfers has also decreased.This is because more bank trans-fers are initiated digitally instead of manually,but also because the total number of bank transfers has increased,allowing banks to spread

234、their fixed costs over more payments.In contrast,the part of the cost associated with the processing of the bank transfer in the payment infrastructure has not decreased significantly.The same applies to the unit cost of card payments,mainly because the number of card payments has increased and thei

235、r processing has become more efficient.This is despite the fact that during the same period banks have invested in the development of contactless payments and increased their spending on fraud protection.Climate impact varies between payment methods According to a research study conducted by the Roy

236、al Institute of Technology and fi-nanced by the Riksbank,the climate impact of payments in Sweden is very low.For example,the total climate impact of all card and cash payments in Sweden,which contribute the highest climate impact per payment,is less than the total emissions of 2,000 Swedes in one y

237、ear.The study also shows that the total climate impact of a pay-ment method is higher the more it is used,but at the same time the climate impact per transaction is lower because the climate impact from,for example,IT systems transport and material can be distributed over more payments.Card payments

238、 that require more material and physical equipment such as card terminals have a higher climate impact than payments by Swish,for example.The European Central Bank(ECB)has also conducted a study on the climate impact of euro banknotes.The study shows that the annual climate impact of using the bank-

239、notes in 2019 corresponded to 0.01 per cent of the total climate impact per citizen per year.This is roughly equivalent to driving a petrol car eight kilometres.The largest carbon footprint comes from the operation of ATMs,followed by cash transport.Instant payments contribute to greater efficiency

240、The instant execution of payments contributes to a more efficient payment system for several reasons.Among other things,it reduces the need for intermediaries for e.g.clearing.If companies can get money in their account instantly,they can control their cash flow in real time.In addition,recipients o

241、f social benefits,insurance money or re-funds,for example,may benefit from having access to their money immediately in-stead of having to wait one or more days.However,there are also potential disadvantages to instant payments.For example,it may be more difficult to implement anti-money laundering a

242、nd anti-terrorist financ-ing controls in real time and fraud will be harder to stop.Instant payments are also not suitable for reservation purchases such as paying for fuel or hotel stays.In Sweden,Swish is currently the only solution for instant payments.In our neigh-bouring countries,on the other

243、hand,it is possible to make instant payments from a mobile or online bank,which you can read more about in Section 1.4.Many mer-chants want more payment solutions for instant payments,according to the Riksbanks retailer survey for the e-krona.Through RIX-INST,which is the Riksbanks 39 system for ins

244、tant payments,the Riksbank has created the conditions for more forms of instant payments in Swedish kronor.In 2024,Swish payments have started to be implemented in the system,but banks should also offer other types of instant pay-ments that can be made using,for example,online banking.This would ope

245、n the door for other payment service providers to develop new services for instant payments through,for example,open banking,which is good for competition in the payments market.Difficult to compete in the payments market The payments market has some specific characteristics that create challenges f

246、or achieving good competition.Payments,except in the case of cash,are basically a ser-vice for transferring information.Like other such services,there are economies of scale.In addition to economies of scale,there are also network effects,which means that the value of a good or service increases whe

247、n more people use it.Economies of scale and network effects can make payments more efficient and cheaper per unit for high-volume operators,but they also make it difficult for new players to enter the payments market.It tends to inhibit innovation and lead to a few players dominating the market or e

248、ven having a monopoly.At EU level,attempts have been made to improve the conditions for competition through regulation.For exam-ple,you can read about how The EUs Second Payment Services Directive enables gre-ater competition.New rules are also planned to further improve conditions.You can read more

249、 about this in the box“New rules can contribute to payments market objec-tives”in Section 2.3.Access to infrastructure and payment account services is central to competition In order to offer payment services,operators need to be connected to the payment infrastructure in some way.Either they can pa

250、rticipate directly in,for example,RIX or Bankgirots service,but the types of operators who can have direct access to this in-frastructure are limited by Swedish law,which is based on the EUs finality directive.Payment service providers who cannot participate directly in the infrastructure need to pa

251、rticipate indirectly,i.e.through an agent who is a direct participant.Currently,this could be a bank.The indirect participant is required to have an account with the bank and have access the services required to make payments,known as payment account services.Under Swedish law,banks must provide acc

252、ess to payment account services to pay-ment service providers who request them on an objective,non-discriminatory and proportionate basis.However,the law does not specify what payment account ser-vices should include.The Payments Inquiry noted that it is,for example,unclear whether a bank needs to o

253、ffer payment service providers ways for their customers to achieve strong customer authentication,for example via BankID.Furthermore,the Swedish Fintech Association,which represents many non-bank payment service pro-viders,reports that it has become increasingly difficult for their members to access

254、 payment accounts.Their report shows that 39 per cent of their members had problems opening or maintaining their accounts in 2023.40 European legislation regulating access to the payment infrastructure is now being amended to allow payment institutions and e-money institutions to become direct parti

255、cipants.The Riksbank is now reviewing the conditions for opening up RIX to these participants.The Riksbank also considers that a possible e-krona could help strengthen competition on the payments market by being open to different types of payment service providers building payment services based on

256、e-krona.You can read more about the Riksbanks work in Chapter 3.Furthermore,the Payments Inquiry has proposed that the Government or one of its authorities should be able to issue regula-tions on what constitutes payment account services.The inquiry also proposed that the Government should ensure th

257、at an in-depth analysis of competition in the Swe-dish payments market is carried out.The Riksbank welcomed the proposals in its con-sultation response and considers that competition in the payments market should be analysed on an ongoing basis.Cross-border payments should be more efficient Cross-bo

258、rder payments are often slower,more expensive and less transparent as domestic payments.A natural explanation for this is that the payment process for cross-border payments usually contains more steps,such as currency exchange,and involves more actors than domestic payments.However,G20 countries hav

259、e agreed on ambitious targets aimed at improving cross-border payments within the next few years.You can find them in Table 1 below.According to a follow-up report from the Financial Stability Board,developments are moving in the right direction.Table 1.G20 targets for cross-border payments Target a

260、rea Payment type Wholesale pay-ments Retail payments Remittances Cost No target By 2027,the global ave-rage cost of a payment must not exceed 1 per cent of the payment va-lue and there must be no corridors where the cost exceeds 3 per cent.By 2030,the global average cost of sending a USD 200 remitta

261、nce should not ex-ceed 3 per cent of the amount sent and there should be no corridors where costs exceed 5 per cent.Speed By 2027,three quarters of all payments should be available to the payee wit-hin one hour and one quarter within one day.Access By 2027,everyone should have access to at least one

262、 payment service.Transparency By 2027,all payment service providers must disclose at least the total trans-action cost.Note:This is a simplified overview.For more detailed information,see source.Source:https:/www.fsb.org/wp-content/uploads/P131021-2.pdf.There has not been a full evaluation of how pa

263、yments from Sweden contribute to the G20 targets,but previous studies indicate that Sweden is relatively well placed.How-ever,Sweden does not always meet the cost and speed targets.In the Riksbanks pub-lication Economic Review 2,2022,a study shows that the Swedish cost of card pay-ments abroad often

264、 exceeds the target.In the same publication,another study shows 41 that there are retail transfer services in Sweden that meet the cost and speed targets,but also that there are others that do not or only partially do so.The authors also pointed out that the lack of statistics makes it difficult to

265、assess how well Sweden is contributing to the G20 targets,partly because there are no statistics on which pay-ment services individuals actually use when sending money abroad.The Riksbanks survey on cross-border payments is a step towards improving the statistics.You can read about it in Section 1.3

266、.Bank transfers within the Single Euro Payments Area(SEPA)are often more efficient than transfers to countries outside the area.This is because common rules and tech-nical standards have been agreed for euro payments in the area.Even within SEPA,however,there is room for improvement.For example,bank

267、s in the area have been slow to start offering instant payments in euro under the common rules developed for this purpose.This is one reason why the EU wants to make it mandatory for banks offering traditional account-to-account transfers in euro to also offer instant trans-fers.The Riksbank works t

268、ogether with the European Central Bank(ECB),among others,to develop the infrastructure needed for rapid and secure payments between Swedish kronor and other European currencies.Making cross-border payments more efficient is also one of the justifications for an e-krona.We describe both these initiat

269、ives in more detail in Chapter 3.But the market also needs to accelerate its efforts to create efficient payment solutions that can be used by private persons,companies and associations.42 2.3 Are payments in Sweden accessible?Part of the Swedish population does not have sufficient access to pay-men

270、t services,some because they have difficulties using digital payment services and others because they cannot access payment accounts.The problems have grown as manual payment methods have gradually been phased out,such as cash services and over-the-counter bill payment lo-cations.What is needed to e

271、nsure payments are accessible?It must be possible for everyone in Sweden to pay at a reasonable cost.Users must have good access to payment services and there must be different payment methods to choose between,depending on the situation and conditions.Access to basic payment services is unsatisfact

272、ory Everyone in Sweden shall have access to basic payment services at reasonable prices in accordance with the objective decided by the Riksdag.However,access to these services has deteriorated in recent years and today the objective is not being met.This is largely due to a reduction in the supply

273、of manual payment services,including cash services,by both banks and other payment service providers,as explained in Sec-tion 1.2.The County Administrative Board of Dalarna,which coordinates the county adminis-trative boards work on basic payment services,writes in its 2023 monitoring report that 15

274、 out of 21 county administrative boards consider that access to basic payment services is unsatisfactory for private persons in general and 9 out of 21 county boards consider that access has deteriorated in 2023.All county administrative boards con-sider the situation to be unsatisfactory for older

275、people and people with disabilities.43 This is because these groups use cash more than the rest of the population and their need for personalised services is greater than that of other groups.Getting help with payments can also be expensive.According to the Swedish Consu-mers Banking and Finance Bur

276、eau,a bank customer paying a bill over the counter at a bank branch may have to pay SEK 150 per bill.Problems with opening and maintaining payment accounts Having access to a payment account is a prerequisite for making payments in todays digital society.It is needed,for example,for debit cards and

277、Swish.Without a pay-ment account,it is difficult to receive your salary,pay your bills and even access cash.It is virtually impossible for a company to operate without a payment account.In a report,Finansinspektionen(FI)notes that the number of consumers having their payment accounts closed has incr

278、eased by 30 per cent between 2020 and 2022.At the same time,banks continue to refuse consumers to open accounts to the same ex-tent as before.FI also notes that the number of companies denied a payment account is slightly higher than the corresponding figure for private persons.As mentioned in Secti

279、on 2.2,many members of the Swedish Fintech Association have also experienced problems opening or maintaining payment accounts.While there is no statutory right for companies to open a payment account,the Pay-ment Services Act gives consumers residing in the European Economic Area(EEA)the right to op

280、en a payment account with basic functions in all EEA countries,unless there are special reasons to deny the account or it would be contrary to the Money Laun-dering Act.Most often,banks cite anti-money laundering rules,in particular lack of knowledge of the customer(KYC),as a reason for denying or c

281、ancelling accounts to consumers and companies.Many do not have access to e-identification(e-ID)Digital payment services often require the payer to be able to identify themselves and confirm the payment with an e-ID.There are several e-IDs in Sweden today,but BankID is by far the most common with aro

282、und 8.5 million users in 2023.It is the banks that issue BankID and they decide who can access the service and how it can be used.According to estimates by the Payments Inquiry,about one tenth of the adult population does not have access to BankID.This is particularly true for older people.Physical

283、ID documents,such as passports and driving licences,are issued by the state.There may be several benefits of the state also issuing an e-ID.Firstly,it can ensure that people can identify themselves electronically without being a customer of a bank.Second,a national e-ID can promote competition in th

284、e payments market by allowing competitors of banks to use an alternative service for identification when making a digital payment.Thirdly,a national e-ID that can be used for payments could make it easier for individuals to pay in normal circumstances and during disruptions,as there would be an addi

285、tional option for identification.The Riksbank is therefore in favour of the Government investigating a national e-ID.We elaborate on this in Chapter 3.44 New rules can contribute to payments market objectives In recent years,several legislative proposals in the field of payments have been pre-sented

286、 at EU level.Some proposals have already been adopted by the EU and several legislative processes have been launched to put the new legislation in place in EU Member States.The updated and partly new EU legislation can contribute to safer,more efficient and more accessible payments in the future.Bel

287、ow are some of the most important adopted and proposed rules.In June 2023,the European Commission submitted a single legislative package for payment services.The legislative package is divided into a regulation(Payment Ser-vices Regulation)and a directive(Payment Services Directive)which together wi

288、ll re-place the currently valid Payment Services Directive and e-Money Directive.In partic-ular,the new legislation aims to strengthen competition,consumer protection and in-clusion in the payments market.In November,the European Parliament and the European Council reached an agree-ment on the so-ca

289、lled Instant Payment Regulation(IPR).The regulation is an update of the so-called SEPA Regulation on payments in euro and requires,among other things,that payment service providers offering regular transfers between accounts in euro also offer instant payments.Instant account transfers must not be m

290、ore expen-sive than regular transfers and payment service providers should offer solutions for the identification of payees before a payment is confirmed.For Sweden,the amendment to the regulation means that banks offering account transfers in euro must offer instant euro transfers.However,the regul

291、ation does not affect the possibility of making instant payments in Swedish kronor.It therefore also does not affect Swedish banks or other payment service providers that only offer ac-count transfers in Swedish krona.The Markets in Cryptographic Assets Regulation(MiCA)was adopted in May 2023.The re

292、gulation regulates who can issue cryptoassets and who can provide cryptoasset services,such as exchanges where crypto can be traded.The regulation also means that anyone who wants to issue cryptoassets and offer services such as providing crypto exchanges needs a licence to do so.There must also be

293、a legal entity registered in the EU issuing the cryptoasset.The MiCA regulation rules will enter into force on 30 December 2024.However,the parts related to stablecoins will already begin to apply on 30 July 2024.The Riksdag passed a new act in May 2023 aimed at strengthening the accessibility of ce

294、rtain products and services.The act transposes the EU Accessibility Directive into Swedish law and will come into force on 28 June 2025.It covers,among other things,banking and finance and e-commerce services relevant to payments.Such services should be understandable,robust and not have overly comp

295、lex language.However,several referral bodies have criticised the fact that the directive does not cover cogni-tive accessibility and that there are too many possibilities to make exceptions to the requirements.45 3 The Riksbanks work and policy The Riksbanks work and policy are based on an economic

296、perspective.We provide solutions and act where it is difficult to achieve safety,effi-ciency and accessibility without government involvement,including by supplying the country with cash and operating the RIX payment system.However,the state,including the Riksbank,and the private sector need to do m

297、ore,not least to ensure that everyone can pay,including in the event of peacetime crises and states of heightened alert.This requires,among other things,stronger legal protection for cash payments.For payments to remain safe,efficient and accessible,banks need to con-tinue to prioritise modernising

298、their infrastructure and making their pay-ment services more inclusive.46 3.1 Everyone must be able to pay To enable everyone to pay,banks need to make it possible for more peo-ple to have a payment account,including by offering accounts with lim-ited functionality.Banks should also ensure that thei

299、r services are well adapted to peoples different prerequisites and digital skills.The state may also need to do more by providing some payment services,espe-cially to those living in financial exclusion.More measures are needed to ensure everyone can pay The Riksbanks assessment is that there are pr

300、oblems with inclusion in the payments market in Sweden.Too many people do not have sufficient access to payment ser-vices,which you can read more about in Section 2.3.Banks must improve access to payment accounts Some individuals and companies experience problems opening and maintaining pay-ment acc

301、ounts with banks.Without a payment account,it is very difficult to partici-pate and function in society at all.In order for everyone to be able to pay,the Riks-bank considers that more private individuals,companies and associations need to have access to a payment account.This can be achieved by cre

302、dit institutions offering accounts with limited functionality,such as lower amount or transaction limits,or by strengthening the monitoring of accounts in cases of increased risk of money launder-ing and terrorist financing.Banks should provide customised services for people who are not digitally li

303、terate Todays digital society places increasingly high demands on people to be able to make payments digitally.Being able to pay is essential for a functional life.However,in or-47 der for everyone to be able to pay,it is important that payment services are also avail-able for those who find it diff

304、icult to use digital technology.The implementation of the EU Accessibility Directive,as described in the box“New rules can contribute to payments market objectives”in Section 2.3,is a step in the right direction,but it will not be enough to solve the problems.The Riksbank considers banks and other p

305、ay-ment service providers should offer payment services that are adapted to consumers who find it difficult to use digital services.This could be,for example,over-the-coun-ter payments and postal giro,but it could also involve making greater use of techno-logical innovations such as biometrics to ca

306、rry out payments and identification.It is also important that these services are offered at reasonable prices.Public sector intervention should be broadened Regardless of the requirements imposed on banks to provide payment accounts,some people will still be excluded from the digital payments market

307、.The Riksbank therefore considers that the public sector needs to take greater responsibility and of-fer payment services for those who are unwilling or unable to pay digitally.This can be done,for example,by offering private individuals assistance in making payments at the service offices of the Na

308、tional Government Service Centre or municipal citizen ad-vice bureaus.In the future,it is also possible that universally accessible payment ser-vices could be built on a possible e-krona,which you can read more about in Section 3.5.The Riksbank is also in favour of the Payments Inquirys proposal to

309、change the politi-cal objective of everyone having access to basic payment services at reasonable prices to a more technology-neutral wording of the objective to the effect that everyone shall be able to make payments at reasonable costs,regardless of payment method.However,the Riksbank wishes to em

310、phasise that many of the problems in the pay-ments market have arisen because cash has been marginalised without sufficiently good digital alternatives being in place,and many people still find it difficult to make digital payments.Therefore,in order not to impair inclusion in the payments market,it

311、 is important that the state continues to support cash services.The importance of national e-identification There are several advantages to also introducing a national e-ID,including more peo-ple being able to identify themselves digitally,and the Riksbank is therefore positive to the Inquiry into s

312、ecure and accessible digital identitys proposal on how a govern-ment authority can design and issue a national e-ID.The inquiry proposes that the na-tional e-ID be issued on a physical card and that only public authorities and private ac-tors in healthcare and education be obliged to accept it.The R

313、iksbank considers that this risks leading to a low level of acceptance,which would make the national e-ID ir-relevant in practice.The financial sector should also accept a national e-ID and it should also be available as a mobile app.48 3.2 Payments should work even in crisis and war Since the begin

314、ning of 2023,the Riksbank has been responsible for en-suring that the public can continue to make payments in peacetime crisis situations and states of heightened alert.The Riksbank now requires companies to be able to maintain their payment operations.The next step is to work together with companie

315、s to strengthen the joint capabil-ity.To make the payment system even more resilient,the Riksbank also considers that people need to be able to make card payments and with-draw cash even when data communication is not working to a greater ex-tent than is currently possible.The Riksbank has been give

316、n a clear mandate The Sveriges Riksbank Act gives the Riksbank responsibility for ensuring that the pub-lic can make payments even in times of crisis and war.This responsibility gives us tasks and mandates that will help to gradually strengthen the overall ability to make payments work even in these

317、 situations.In practice,this means that the Riksbank must identify which companies are covered and impose requirements on these com-panies.In addition,the Riksbank shall coordinate both planning for and management of a crisis or war situation.Finally,the Riksbank shall oversee that the companies mee

318、t their obligations.In 2023,the Riksbank adopted regulations that create guidelines for both companies own work and the joint work coordinated by the Riksbank.In 2024,the Riksbank will establish the form and focus of the oversight.49 New requirements for companies that are important for payments The

319、 Riksbank has developed,secured support for and adopted regulations on pay-ments.The regulations identify which companies are covered and describe require-ments for how companies shall maintain their payment operations in times of crisis and war.Requirements for companies to participate in the work

320、led by the Riksbank are also described.The regulations entered into force on 1 February this year.In the first version of the regulations,the Riksbank has chosen to identify a small group of companies that are crucial to the functioning of payments.In this way,it will be possible to start work immed

321、iately on strengthening their ability to deal with peacetime crisis situations and states of heightened alert,while developing and estab-lishing forms of cooperation and work processes.The Riksbank then intends to gradu-ally extend the regulations to more companies.The companies initially covered by

322、 the regulations are certain credit institutions,companies providing payment apps,elec-tronic identification and signatures,companies providing payment infrastructure and companies storing,counting and transporting cash.Focus on increasing the ability to maintain payments The Riksbank has establishe

323、d a new cooperation structure,Civil Preparedness Pay-ments,for the joint work with the companies covered by the regulations.The Riksbank provides guidelines and coordinates the work,which entails ensuring that the work fulfils both the requirements imposed on the Riksbank through the Sve-riges Riksb

324、ank Act,and the requirements imposed on companies via the Riksbanks regulations.To support coordination,the Riksbank has a reference group that in-cludes the companies.Over the year,the Riksbank will work with the companies to analyse payment flows,risks and vulnerabilities and identify the need for

325、 measures.We will also carry out training and exercise activities.In addition,a coordination and information manage-ment function has been established,which can be activated in the event of an inci-dent.In the recently published inquiry A new function for crisis management during serious operational

326、 disruptions in the financial sectors digital infrastructure it is pro-posed that the Riksbank shall be responsible for an operational management function within the civil preparedness sector Financial services.This would require the Riks-banks management function to be extended to cover the entire

327、civil preparedness sector,and not be limited to the payments area.The possibility to pay offline needs to be improved The Riksbank considers that the resilience of the payment system would be strength-ened by improving the ability to pay by card and withdraw cash even when data com-munication is not

328、 working.The Payments Inquiry,presented in March last year,in-cluded a proposal for a state credit guarantee for merchants to facilitate offline pur-chases of essential goods in peacetime crises or states of heightened alert.The Riks-bank considers this to be a step in the right direction and will i

329、n future take a leading role in the work to improve the possibilities of making offline payments.The Riksbank 50 will convene relevant actors in the private and public sectors to contribute to the work.Exemption from the cash register requirement needed to be able to pay cash in times of crisis and

330、war The Riksbank is in favour of the Payments Inquirys proposal that it should be possible to make exceptions from the requirement to use cash registers in a peacetime crisis or state of heightened alert.This would increase the possibility of paying by cash in such situations.Under current legislati

331、on,merchants must be able to record all pur-chases in a cash register and offer the customer a receipt,which means that they can-not accept cash without breaking the law if their cash register system is not working.51 3.3 Modernisation of the payment infrastructure necessary The Riksbank is working

332、to modernise its payment system RIX.As a re-sult,more payments can now go through RIX,which improves both secu-rity and efficiency.The Riksbank is also investigating whether more par-ticipants can gain access to RIX in order to increase competition in the payments market,and is working to make cross

333、-border payments faster.Banks need to prioritise the modernisation of the private payment infra-structure,in particular Bankgirot,and adapt their systems and services so that more payments can be as fast as Swish.The Riksbank is modernising RIX Apart from card payments,almost all digital payments between banks go through ac-counts they hold in RIX.The RIX system consists of two services:RIX-RTGS f