In Sweden, cash is almost extinct

■ Microchips in hands allow people to pay with a wave

■ A FIFTH of Swedes do not use ATMs.

Stockholm, Nov. 24: Sweden is fast becoming a cashless society. Ask most people in Sweden how often they pay with cash and the answer is “almost never.”

More than 4,000 Swedes have implanted microchips in their hands, allowing them to pay for rail travel and food, or enter keyless offices, with a wave. Restaurants, buses, parking lots and even pay toilets depend on clicks rather than cash.

A fifth of Swedes, in a country of 10 million people, do not use automated teller machines anymore.

Consumer groups say the shift leaves many retirees — a third of all Swedes are 55 or older — as well as some immigrants and people with disabilities at a disadvantage. They cannot easily gain access to electronic means for some goods and transactions, and rely on banks and their customer service.

And the progress toward a cashless society could upend the state’s centuries-old role as sovereign guarantor. If cash disappears, commercial banks would wield greater control.

“We need to pause and think about whether this is good or bad, and not just sit back and let it happen,” said Mats Dillén, the head of a Swedish Parliament committee studying the matter. “If cash disappears, that would be a big change, with major implications for society and the economy.”

Cash is being squeezed out so quickly in Swedenwith half the nation’s retailers predicting they will stop accepting bills before 2025--that the government is recalculating the societal costs of a cash-free future.

The financial authorities, who once embraced the trend, are asking banks to keep peddling notes and coins until the government can figure out what going cash-free means for young and old consumers. The central bank, which predicts cash may fade from Sweden, is testing a digital currency — an e-krona — to keep firm control of the money supply. Lawmakers are exploring the fate of online payments and bank accounts if an electrical grid fails or servers are thwarted by power failures, hackers or even war.

— Agencies

■ CONSUMER GROUPS say the shift leaves retirees and people with disabilities at disadvantage.