Payments Report

The digitalisation of the payments market has helped make payments faster, more convenient and cheaper for most people. At the same time, these developments have also brought challenges. Measures need to be taken to strengthen preparedness and reduce exclusion so that everyone can pay, even in the event of crisis or war. Furthermore, innovation and competition in the payments market can be improved.

The central government is responsible for payments in Sweden being safe, efficient and accessible. Therefore, the state needs to act by setting a framework for the market and taking measures that solve immediate problems.

The pursuit of safety, efficiency and accessibility in the payments market can sometimes go hand in hand, but there can also be conflicts between these objectives. For many years, efficiency has been the priority; today, safety and accessibility are at least as important. The Riksbank makes the following assessments of what needs to be done to achieve a better functioning payments market.

Banks and other payment service providers need to make payment services more inclusive and continue to modernise their infrastructure

• The payments market needs to become more accessible. The Riksbank considers that the banks need to ensure that more people have an account, for example by offering accounts with limited functions to a greater extent. This is also in line with the fight against fraud, as accounts with certain restrictions and extra protection can make things more difficult for criminals. Banks' services also need to be better adapted to the different needs of their customers, not least with regard to people experiencing digital exclusion.
• Bankgirot and the banks have extensive and urgent work ahead of them to modernise and streamline the Swedish infrastructure and services for batch payments – for instance, payments of bills and salaries. Modernisation and streamlining also include implementing international standards such as ISO 20022, complying with new regulations and ensuring the resilience of the infrastructure in a more uncertain geopolitical environment. This work needs to be done openly and in close contact with both the authorities and the infrastructure's end users – both with regard to planning and implementation.
• The Riksbank expects more banks to start offering their customers new instant payment services soon. This applies in particular to the major banks. Swish payments have long been the only type of digital payment that reaches the recipient instantly. In autumn 2024, the Riksbank enabled banks to offer additional services to Swish, through changes to the underlying infrastructure. So far, only a few minor initiatives towards new services have been taken. Just over half of the small businesses that took part in the Riksbank's survey think it is important that customer payments are received directly into the account. At the same time, the risk of certain financial crimes is increasing as more payments become instantaneous. This means that the control mechanisms of payment service providers need to be further strengthened.
• Sweden is a small, export-dependent country and functioning cross-border payments are essential. Geopolitical developments are to some extent slowing down global initiatives in this area. Swedish authorities, banks and payment infrastructures should therefore work actively to improve the conditions for cross-border payments where there are possibilities to do so. The Riksbank therefore considers that banks and payment service providers using RIX for instant payments should join the TIPS cross-currency service as soon as possible, which from October will enable payments between different currencies.

The Riksbank needs to continue developing its mission on payments system preparedness

• Preparedness efforts need to be developed and intensified to ensure that the public can make payments under normal conditions as well as in the event of a peacetime crisis and heightened alert. The cooperation between the Riksbank and the actors in the Civil Preparedness Payments collaboration structure plays an important role here. The Riksbank has begun a review of existing regulations in the contingency planning area, with the aim of expanding the group of companies covered by the regulations and setting new requirements.
• The Riksbank considers it necessary to increase the possibility of making payments even in the event of major disruptions in data communication. This is particularly true for payments by the public for essential goods, such as food, medicine and fuel. The Riksbank's objective is that, by 1 July 2026, it shall be possible to make card payments offline for the purchase of essential goods in the event of disruptions lasting up to 7 days. Several of our Nordic-Baltic neighbours have already implemented or are in the process of implementing this option. This possibility should apply to all cardholders over the age of 18 with cards from the banks covered by the Riksbank's contingency regulations. To achieve this, the Riksbank has brought together the relevant actors in its preparedness work to find practical solutions regarding technology, rules, processes, agreements and risk allocation.
• The Riksbank will also continue to strengthen preparedness in its own operations, for example in the supply of cash and by opening more banknote depots where companies can easily collect and deposit cash. Having such stocks of cash in more locations across the country reduces both the costs for companies and the risk that cash would be difficult to use in the event of a disruption. The Riksbank will review further measures to support the distribution of cash throughout the country.
• Pursuant to the Sveriges Riksbank Act, a company that conducts operations that affect the availability of cash in Sweden shall inform the Riksbank if it intends to cease these operations. The Riksbank plans to produce regulations in 2025 that clarify this information obligation regarding, for example, the content of the information and requirements for when it is to be provided.
• The Riksbank needs to take an active role in ensuring that a broad societal perspective permeates the design of the payment infrastructure. This means enabling the influence of various interests in the RIX payments system and helping to ensure that the privately-owned infrastructure is designed to take into account all of the important social functions of the payments system.
• To ensure a safe, efficient and accessible payments system, the Riksbank must monitor developments in the entire payments market. The Riksbank's statistics on, and analyses of, the various parts of the payments market will be further improved. Where necessary, the Riksbank will initiate a dialogue with relevant actors to raise issues and strengthen collaboration. In addition, the Riksbank must communicate these insights to the Riksdag and the Government so that the necessary measures can be taken in time.

The Government and Riksdag are recommended to introduce rules to protect the status of cash and to promote greater price transparency

• The Riksbank recommends that the Cash Inquiry's proposal that certain public and private agents be obliged to accept cash should be implemented. A clearer and increased responsibility for banks to provide appropriate and customised cash services for companies should also be implemented. These measures are necessary to maintain the cash infrastructure in Sweden and to ensure that cash can continue to function as a means of payment.
• Cash is needed so that everyone can pay, as well as to provide an additional means of payment in the event of crisis or war. At the same time, cash is used for criminal purposes. Efforts to combat financial crime therefore need to be balanced against the need for a payments system that is accessible to all. As part of the fight against money laundering and other criminal activities, the Riksdag and the Government should consider introducing a general upper limit for cash purchases, as in many other EU countries.
• It is important for businesses to know and understand the cost of their payments. Despite this, almost a third of the small businesses that responded to the Riksbank's survey on payments said that they did not know what their payments cost. To attain healthy competition in the payments market, there is a need for greater transparency on the charges for different payment services. Consumers also find it difficult to compare the services offered by banks and payment service providers. The Riksbank therefore considers that the Government should commission the Swedish Competition Authority to investigate the pricing of payment services and the information about them, and to propose measures to strengthen competition on the payments market aimed at companies.