7 [35]  There are many reasons why Swedes are choosing to abandon cash. 14 One example is the rapid emergence of the Swish mobile app. Even if we welcome technological developments and the increased competition on the payment market, there is a risk that developments will move too fast. There are many people who have problems in using digital methods of payment, and when fewer and fewer businesses and restaurants accept cash, some people will experience problems. Cash is no longer easy to use. Many shops and restaurants will no longer accept cash, and it is difficult to deposit and withdraw cash, especially if one is dependent on doing so over the counter and not through an ATM. I, and the Riksbank, have long pointed out that the legal position of cash needs to be strengthened. 15 Some form of activities should be obliged to always accept cash, such as the medical sector and pharmacies. Similarly, it should be possible to deposit both banknotes and coins, and to do so over the counter. There is currently around one million people in Sweden who have limited access to digital technology or who have limited capacity to use it. Many elderly people are dependent on help from a person and therefore have no use for services based on using ATMs. This is a large and growing problem that needs to be resolved at a political level. It is also important for Sweden's crisis preparedness that the use of cash does not fall too low.
If you’re interested in risk in the financial system it isn’t enough simply to look at levels of debt and compare them with those in other countries or long-distant periods of time. For the most part those variations seem to be explained by differences in sustainable levels of debt, not differences in riskiness. Another possible lesson involves the speed of any policy response. The Bank’s Financial Policy Committee, which is responsible for monitoring and stabilising risk in the financial system as a whole, has many tools at its disposal. One of the main instruments is the so-called “Counter-Cyclical Capital Buffer” (CCyB). This is an extra margin the FPC can add to banks’ capital requirements when risks are rising. The aim is to ensure that, in the event of a downturn and losses on their books, banks don’t make it worse by actively cutting back on lending. 13  See Chart 18 in Broadbent (2012). 17  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/speeches  17  However, it takes time to implement changes in the CCyB (we have to give banks advance notice). So if it’s true that swings in credit supply develop relatively rapidly, it may be necessary to supplement the CCyB with other safeguards. I would put the 2014 housing measures, which placed limits on high-LTI lending, into this category.