If the Swedish payment system were to become dominated by private crypto-currencies or by something other than Swedish kronor, domestic monetary policy would be marginalised. The ongoing Riksbank Inquiry has examined the matter of cash in a so-called fast track and a few proposals on access to cash services have been produced. This could contribute to slowing down the trend of decreasing cash usage. However, there are indications that that the latter is mainly a consequence of reduced demand for cash. 30 I hope that the Riksbank Inquiry, in its final report, will put forward further proposals for the long term protection of Swedish kronor issued by the Riksbank, whichever form these may take, physical or digital. New legislation,  30 For an analysis of this development, see “Times are changing and so are payment patterns”. Guibourg, G. and Erlandsson, F. Economic Commentary No. 6 2018. Sveriges Riksbank. 12 [15]  strengthening the protection for Swedish kronor, should be technologically neutral to allow for a future totally dominated by electronic money. I would like to be clear that, as yet, we are only at the start of the analysis of the e-krona. Last autumn, we presented a few preliminary conclusions and, at the end of this year, we will decide whether and, if so, how we will proceed with the next stage of the project. Neither are we alone in the central banking world in considering this.
SPEECH DATE:  4 June 2018  SPEAKER:  Stefan Ingves  VENUE:  Stockholm School of Economics  SVERIGES RIKSBANK SE-103 37 Stockholm (Brunkebergstorg 11) Tel +46 8 787 00 00 Fax +46 8 21 05 31 registratorn@riksbank.se www.riksbank.se  Money and payments – where are we heading? Today, I am going to talk about money. This is a subject that concerns us all – most of us use money practically every day. But we probably don’t give much thought to how important it is that our daily purchases can be carried out smoothly. It's more or less the same as not giving so much thought to your health as long as you’re healthy. But once you get sick, it becomes almost the only thing you can think about. Our system for payments is similar; as long as it works securely and efficiently, we don’t think about it. And, to continue the analogy: It is the Riksbank's task to ensure that the payment system remains healthy and contributes to a well-functioning society. Right now, we, at the Riksbank, are devoting a lot of time to issues regarding payments and the payment system. The background to this is formed by the rapid changes on the payment market and the rapid decrease in cash usage in Sweden – a development that we are practically alone in, worldwide. Only a few other countries are undergoing a similar, albeit less dramatic, development.