Digital payments and Sweden are terms that go hand in hand with each other for several years, driven by local services Swish and Qliro, and internationally known Klarna. Sweden boasts one of the lowest shares of cash in the worldwide, leading many to believe that Sweden one day might become a cashless society. The decline of cash was twofold for Swedish consumers: They said in a late 2023 survey they had no choice
as fewer places accepted cash. That said, plenty of consumers found digital payments easier to use than cash. For instance,
Swish processed over 10 transactions per customer per month in 2023, with most transactions coming from private individuals. That is not to say international brands do not have a foothold.
Apple Pay penetration at Swedish POS was around 45 percent at the end of 2023. This may indicate a future growth of digital wallets in the Nordic country.
Digital payments refer to any form of cashless payment or payments conducted without banknotes or coins in either an online or offline environment. This can include mobile payments (digital payments performed with a mobile device), fintech (such companies tend to be at the forefront of payment digitalization), or relatively young trends like buy now, pay later (BNPL) or cryptocurrency. Out of all these cashless options, which developments are noteworthy to know about for Sweden?