Sweden advises citizens to stockpile cash - in case of emergencies

Sweden's Civil Contingencies Agency warns that hackers and terrorists could cripple Sweden by targeting the country's digital payments infrastructure

Sweden's Civil Contingencies Agency has advised citizens to store hard cash at home in case of emergencies.

According to The Times, the Agency believes that hackers or terrorist groups could target the country's digital payments infrastructure in a bid to cause disruption.

People have therefore been urged to keep "cash in small denominations" at home and not to depend entirely on electronic payments.

Sweden is one of the most advanced countries in Europe in terms of digital payments, pioneering the drive towards a so-called cashless society. Cards and phones are widely used for making everyday payments online, and in shops large and small.

Last year, a survey revealed that just 13 per cent of Swedes used cash for a recent purchase. According to the report from Stockholm's Royal Institute of Technology, only 18 per cent of all the payments made in Sweden today are settled in cash. In comparison, 70 per cent people in the US use cash every week.

Any disruption to the digital cash infrastructure in Sweden would cause immediate problems to at least 15 per cent of Swedes, official data indicates.

Last week, Riksbank, Sweden's central bank, ordered an inquiry into the risks posed by going cashless. Riksbank head Stefan Ingves warned only last year that going fully cashless would put too much power into the hands of a handful of payment processors.

However, the bank also suggested that the government ought to create the world's first state-backed form of digital money.

"If we don't take action now in this country, we're only a couple of years away from Sweden," said Natalie Ceeney, the chairwoman of the Britain's Access to Cash Review.

"Sweden's big message to us is, 'Plan now before you get into a mess'," she added.

The findings of the Access to Cash Review report were published earlier this year, which concluded that the UK is"sleepwalking" into a cashless society because of the impact of digital and contactless payments trends.