Following the launch of its pilot Central Bank Digital Currency, Sweden plans to adopt CBDC by the end of the year as the payment method.

The world’s leading cashless society, Sweden, is now contemplating to explore the world of digital currencies. Following the Bloomberg report, Per Bolund, Sweden’s minister for financial markets, announced that a study exploring the views of the nation utilizing digital currency is undertaken. Sweden plans to adopt the Central bank digital currency (CBDC). Swedish authorities have declared intentions for a step-by-step substitution of the conventional krona with e-krona. Thus, indicating a possible shift off from paper money to one of the world’s most cashless societies.

The ministry has previously set up a committee that will supervise the review. The committee comprises Anna Kinberg Batra, a former chairwoman of the Riksbank’s finance committee appointed to lead the group. Sweden is amongst the prime players globally to contemplate developing a CBDC. Sweden’s Central bank, Riksbank, declared in February that it had started trialling its CBDC called e-krona. 

Sweden’s CBDC e-krona trial to conclude by February 2021

The trial would last for a year. It will unveil how the general public can embrace the CBDC in payments. The banknotes on the website state that the process would be as easy as sending text messages. Moreover, the apex bank collaborated with consulting firm Accenture to test e-krona’s usage through an isolated test environment. The pilot would conclude by February 2021.

The Riksbank reported in October that less than one-tenth of all payments in the country were made in cash. That is the lowest level in Sweden’s antiquity. The cashless trend grew even more powerful as the pandemic facilitated the transformation to digital payments. The authorities expect that e-krona will come into existence after the conclusion of trials and review. Moreover, it’s worth noting that the use of fiat has decreased prominently owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Prior to the pandemic’s peak, various Swedish citizens utilize a mobile payment application named Swish to roll out payments rather than cash. This habit influenced the Bank of International Settlement (BIS) to rank the country as the world’s most cashless society in 2018. 

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