Business

While the future of cash seems uncertain, with a general trend towards reduced use, its total disappearance isn't yet on the agenda. The proof is in the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden...

In the face of the Russian threat and cyber-attacks, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands explicitly, but also other European countries indirectly, recommend that their citizens stock up on cash to be able to make cash payments if necessary.

 In Sweden, four out of five transactions are carried out electronically, and the country is an Eldorado for dematerialized money. To find an ATM in Stockholm or Gothenburg, you need to be patient. In Sweden, digital payment is king, with no minimum purchase required. But with the risk of war and hacking of all kinds coming from the East, the Bank of Sweden now wants to take a step back and reintegrate cash into the daily lives of Swedes. And it's not alone.

The Dutch Bankers' Association (NVB), for example, advises people to keep small sums of money - around 300 to 400 euros for a single person - in small denominations, just in case.

In Norway, the government has recently taken important steps to reinforce citizens' right to use cash, an important turning point in the Kingdom's policy on the use of cash, in a country renowned for championing digital payments.

Of course, all these recommendations are intended to complement, not replace, electronic means of payment. The aim is to provide an alternative in the event of disruption to digital systems or armed conflict.

But this approach isn't universal. Belgium, for example, has not issued any such recommendations to its population, preferring not to spread panic and emphasizing the priority given to cybersecurity in the banking sector.

In France, where 83% of French people still say they're very attached to cash (cf. 2023 survey), cash is still perceived as a store of value and an essential means of payment for certain transactions, which is why the authorities are seeking to maintain a balance between digital payments and cash, in order to ensure financial inclusion and economic resilience.

But cash's return to favor today seems a real trend, even if dictated by circumstances.

(MH with CM with LM - Source: France Info and Capital/Picture: Pixabay)