Like the privatisation of the distribution system, the facility at Arlanda is a part of the Riksbank’s efforts to streamline cash handling. The 19 Riksbank offices that conducted these operations 10 years ago will have been reduced to one by 2013. In the same period, the number of personnel will have been reduced from around 300 to approximately 10 people. 7  Payment Security Report Sweden 2008, VISA Europe. 8  I am talking about the Observatory for Payment Card Security (Observatoire de la sécurité des cartes de paiement) which since 2004 produces an annual report that gives an objective account of the state of the card industry in France. BIS Review 7/2010  5  The Riksbank also recently evaluated the use of cash in Sweden and concluded that the current Swedish banknote and coin series is becoming outdated. There is a need to further develop the security details. It may also be sensible to make the relatively heavy Swedish coins lighter. Another problem is that the level of coin circulation is low. A few years ago, every Swedish household had an average of SEK 850 in coins stored in a bowl, jar or money box. It is hardly likely that this figure is lower today. Partly on the basis of this evaluation, the Riksbank has decided that the 50-öre coin is no longer needed. It will therefore be withdrawn during the autumn and öre will thereafter only exist as a virtual arithmetical unit. I think it feels rather strange to imagine this virtual öre.
Those who prefer cash also say that to a certain extent it may be a case of old habits dying hard, or that they happened to have cash on them and therefore used it. Those who prefer cards say instead that one of the reasons is that they do not like to walk around with cash. A comparison of the interviewees’ attitudes to cash and cards also reveals that cash is perceived as being more secure, while cards are seen as being somewhat less secure. There is also a clear generational aspect to the choice of means of payment. The youngest age group, those under 25, feel a greater sense of security when using cards than the other age groups and are more than willing to use their cards to pay small sums. Those who are 45 or older pay with cash to a greater extent. The oldest age group, those who are 65 or older, prefer to pay with cash, even when they buy something that costs over SEK 500. This tendency is the same now as it was in the previous survey. What does it cost to pay? Should the trend towards increasing card payments and decreasing cash payments be regarded as positive or negative? One way of attempting to answer this question is to consider the cost to society of various payments. If the payment system is to be efficient, these payments should reasonably cost as little as possible.