Ikea Sweden to try cash-free payment stores are expected to be fully promoted in Sweden

Ikea Sweden to try cash-free payment stores are expected to be fully promoted in Sweden

Ikea, the world’s largest retailer of furniture and household goods, will try cashless payments at its stores in Gävle, Sweden.



Gävle is a city of less than 80,000 people in northern Sweden. Ikea says people in the city of Gävle are extremely uncomfortable with cash payments.

Ikea said the cash-free stores in Gävle City will start on October 1. If the effect is better, Ikea plans to pay cash in all Sweden stores.

Sweden’s largest department store, Ahlens, is also pushing cashless stores, with three stores now experimenting with cashless payments.

Swedish consumers swipe their debit cards three times times more often than most Europeans. With the use of smart-phone apps such as Swish (a “Swish” instant payment application, which is set up by major Swedish banks, and more than half of Swedish consumers Register for the app), Sweden is expected to turn into a completely cashless society in 2030.



Some opponents, however, say the move will have an impact on rural areas, pensioners and personal integrity.

In the area of cashless cash, Sweden is in fact an open-headed veteran.

In 2013, the Swedish central bank cancelled its banknotes with the largest denomination. By 2014, only one-fifth of retail transactions in Sweden still use cash.

Banknotes and coins now account for only 2% per cent of the Swedish economy, according to Euromonitor International, a market-research firm in 2015, significantly less than the US (7.7%) and the eurozone (10%). In addition, only 20% per cent of consumption in Sweden is done by cash, which is much lower than the average of the rest of the world (75%).

In Sweden, a country where high technology is ubiquitous, electronic money is gradually replacing cash. As early as 2013, in most cities in Sweden, buses do not accept cash, and tickets must be paid in advance or by SMS.

Because some small companies accept only bank cards, some branches of the banks have completely stopped dealing with cash, and they make money through electronic trading operations. Even in the church, the use of cash was significantly reduced, and some churches installed card readers to accept electronic donations.

Sweden is on track to become the world’s first completely cashless country by 2030.