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Its a bold headline, but as the article explains, its not actually very many Swedes who seem to be 'rebelling'. People I know are trying to get pensioners they

Its a bold headline, but as the article explains, its not actually very many Swedes who seem to be 'rebelling'. People I know are trying to get pensioners they are 'responsible for' to stop carrying and using cash, as its far higher risk. I don't personally know of anybody rebelling against the cashless society, not in any age group. Its not even talked about. On the other hand, 'do you take swish' (a phone-to-phone payment method) is asked all the time. Lunch with friends? Instead of everyone ordering separately, just order together, and divvy it up with Swish when you get the bill. Etc. I have a single banknote folded up my wallet, just for emergencies, and I haven't used it this year yet.

dehrmann 7y ago
In my time in Stockholm, I think I went to two places that were cash-only. One was a gelato shop(?!), the other a shop selling old maps and lithographs run by an older man. Literally everywhere else happily takes cards.
Svip 7y ago
> I don't personally know of anybody rebelling against the cashless society, not in any age group. Its not even talked about. No one is, because the cashless society isn't happening. The concept of abandoning cash is at this stage merely a thought experiment. Even in Sweden, the most significant action taken in that direction is a discussion about whether to have a discussion, from the government. But why would any government abandon cash? Any fiat currency needs at least some cash to go around, otherwise the remaining cash exchanges that still happens, a lot of which are untracked, would be outside of the control that governments still have over them; valuation. If you take away their cash, they will simply find another bartering tool.
- jopsen 7y ago
  You're right that if you take away cash the sketchy side of the economy might switch to euros or dollar :) But that won't work for shops trying to avoid taxes. It'll also make it much harder to buy stuff from criminals, as you would have to go get cash somewhere. What other cash exchanges still happens?
  - Svip 7y ago
    Tourists, I'd imagine. I am not sure how many merchants you know in Sweden that accepts UnionPay? At least of the smaller ones. And I know most German tourists prefer cash, generally any tourist from a cash heavy society will prefer cash. Sure, their big ticket items are still going to be hotels and the like, where they will pay with a credit card, but they are not interested in coming if they can pay the small merchant with cash. Because they don't have access to the local infrastructure for digital payments, that the locals do.
    - username90 7y ago
      When I travel abroad I just use my mastercard, why doesn't that work for them? I don't know anyone without a mastercard or a visa.
      - Svip 7y ago
        Where do you travel? There are plenty of countries I've been to that don't accept any foreign cards. Unless you only go to the fancy hotels and restaurants, I suppose. But if you actually want to interact with small merchants abroad, you need cash. I never travel abroad without cash, and that includes when I travel to Sweden.
        LeonidasXIV 7y ago
        > I never travel abroad without cash, and that includes when I travel to Sweden. I've been in Sweden plenty times and haven't even seen a single Swedish krona. In the Copenhagen subreddit we also recommend people not bringing in cash, at least as long as their credit card situation is somewhat reasonable.
      - drfuchs 7y ago
        In 2019, I was able to spend 4 days in Canada without touching a single Canadian Dollar. On the other hand, 4 days in Germany absolutely required cash at virtually every meal and other non-hotel purchase.
      - 7y ago
carlbarrdahl 7y ago
I created a convenience tool for this use-case. Enter your phone number and the amount. Let others scan the dynamically generated QR code with their Swish app. You can also link to payments for sharing. Phone numbers are encrypted in URL and there is no backend. https://swisher.carlb.dev https://swisher.carlb.dev https://github.com/carlbarrdahl/swisher https://github.com/carlbarrdahl/swisher

dehrmann 7y ago

In my time in Stockholm, I think I went to two places that were cash-only. One was a gelato shop(?!), the other a shop selling old maps and lithographs run by an older man. Literally everywhere else happily takes cards.

Svip 7y ago

> I don't personally know of anybody rebelling against the cashless society, not in any age group. Its not even talked about. No one is, because the cashless society isn't happening. The concept of abandoning cash is at this stage merely a thought experiment. Even in Sweden, the most significant action taken in that direction is a discussion about whether to have a discussion, from the government. But why would any government abandon cash? Any fiat currency needs at least some cash to go around, otherwise the remaining cash exchanges that still happens, a lot of which are untracked, would be outside of the control that governments still have over them; valuation. If you take away their cash, they will simply find another bartering tool.

jopsen 7y ago
You're right that if you take away cash the sketchy side of the economy might switch to euros or dollar :) But that won't work for shops trying to avoid taxes. It'll also make it much harder to buy stuff from criminals, as you would have to go get cash somewhere. What other cash exchanges still happens?
- Svip 7y ago
  Tourists, I'd imagine. I am not sure how many merchants you know in Sweden that accepts UnionPay? At least of the smaller ones. And I know most German tourists prefer cash, generally any tourist from a cash heavy society will prefer cash. Sure, their big ticket items are still going to be hotels and the like, where they will pay with a credit card, but they are not interested in coming if they can pay the small merchant with cash. Because they don't have access to the local infrastructure for digital payments, that the locals do.
  - username90 7y ago
    When I travel abroad I just use my mastercard, why doesn't that work for them? I don't know anyone without a mastercard or a visa.
    - Svip 7y ago
      Where do you travel? There are plenty of countries I've been to that don't accept any foreign cards. Unless you only go to the fancy hotels and restaurants, I suppose. But if you actually want to interact with small merchants abroad, you need cash. I never travel abroad without cash, and that includes when I travel to Sweden.
      - LeonidasXIV 7y ago
        > I never travel abroad without cash, and that includes when I travel to Sweden. I've been in Sweden plenty times and haven't even seen a single Swedish krona. In the Copenhagen subreddit we also recommend people not bringing in cash, at least as long as their credit card situation is somewhat reasonable.
    - drfuchs 7y ago
      In 2019, I was able to spend 4 days in Canada without touching a single Canadian Dollar. On the other hand, 4 days in Germany absolutely required cash at virtually every meal and other non-hotel purchase.
    - 7y ago

carlbarrdahl 7y ago

I created a convenience tool for this use-case. Enter your phone number and the amount. Let others scan the dynamically generated QR code with their Swish app. You can also link to payments for sharing. Phone numbers are encrypted in URL and there is no backend. https://swisher.carlb.dev https://swisher.carlb.dev https://github.com/carlbarrdahl/swisher https://github.com/carlbarrdahl/swisher