This is reported by Bloomberg with reference to the statement of the Swedish National Bank (Riksbank).
The Central Bank said in a statement that this amount is indicative and is intended for vital purchases for a week. Other recommendations include getting cards from different banks and payment systems; connecting mobile payment services in case the cards don’t work; having the cards themselves and PIN codes to them on hand to be able to pay not only with a smartphone.
“The current international situation and the high level of digitalization in Sweden can lead to vulnerabilities in the payment system. It is therefore important that the population has different payment methods, such as cash, bank cards and access to payment services via mobile phones/ Access to different payment methods improves the population’s ability to make payments in the event of temporary disruptions, crises and, in the worst case, war,” the Central Bank said in a statement.
The Swedish government has already sent a brochure to every home telling Swedes, among other things, how much drinking water they should store and how they can access news during a power outage.
At the end of February, the research company YouGov published a report, from which it follows that Swedish residents more often than other Europeans do not use cash at all – this was stated by 27% of those surveyed.
The Riksbank has previously called for a new law to protect the status of cash, but such changes have yet to be introduced. The bank also said that offline payments for food and medicine should be available to citizens in case of a system failure by July 1.
The central banks of Finland and Norway have already issued recommendations for their citizens to keep cash and more than one bank card.
