Half of all Swedish retailers predict that they'll have stopped accepting cash payments by 2025, and half of the country's bank branches have already stopped accepting cash deposits. Coins and notes make up just 1% of Sweden's economy, compared to 8% in the US and 10% in Europe. Paying with a card or phone or just buying things online first gained popularity due to its convenience, but as the
New York Times notes, it's now at the point where cash is so rare in Sweden it's costly for shops to support it. After noticing that only 1% of customers used cash while employees were spending 15% of their time counting, organizing and storing it, an Ikea store decided to stop accepting cash temporarily. Only 0.12% of customers have been unable to pay without cash, mostly in the store's cafe. The move hasn't been popular with everyone, however. The nearest branch of the Swedish National Pensioners Organization has been organizing protests against Ikea's experiment, saying that it has alienated many retirees that used to pay for meals at the cafe with cash. And considering one in ten Swedes admit to not being comfortable using digital payment systems, the government has been listening to the complaints closely.