Gustaf Sjöberg is professor and Head of the Law Department at Stockholm university. His research focuses on financial regulation and company law. Common features of the research are an economic approach and focus on fundamental rights. He holds a doctorate in Company Law from Stockholm university and one in Banking Law from Lund university. He was Associate Judge of Appeal before entering into the Ministry of Finance as a Legal Adviser and then on into academia. He has served in several Swedish Governmental Committees in the financial field. He was a member of the board of the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority for more than ten years.
Running out of Cash – the Swedish Example
Abstract:
This article is about the Swedish Central Bank’s – the Riksbank’s – involvement in and responsibility for payments in Sweden – past, present and future. The Riksbank is arguably the oldest central bank in the world and has thus been at the heart of payments in Sweden for a very long period. But times are changing. Sweden is the country in the world that uses the least cash, in the sense coins and bills. It has a well-established and modern infrastructure for payments, mainly based on transfers between bank accounts. More recently, a system for instant payments owned by private banks, using mobile phones connected to bank accounts, have marginalized cash also a means of payments between individuals. Cash is in effect about to become obsolete. The question that present itself is: what – if anything – should the Riksbank do next? One option being explored is a central bank digital currency (CBDC). While likely to be technically feasible, some versions of a CBDC may challenge the role of banks in the economy and increase the involvement of the state in credit markets, thus raising major policy issues. Against a historic backdrop and a review of recent development, this article explores the way ahead for government backed payments in Sweden.