Nordic nations make surprise move back to cash as cyber risks grow

This week Swedish homes got yellow emergency guides with a soldier on front – a big change for this tech-savvy nation. The guide tells people to keep cash ready (in different bill sizes) and use it sometimes: its a new step for a country that almost gave up paper money

The shift comes as Nordic nations re-think their payment systems. In Sweden just about 8% of folks used cash in 22‚ but that number went up to 10% last year – a rare turn-around for this digital-first economy. Max Brimberg from Swedens central bank says: “When Russia started the Ukraine war we saw lots of people taking money from ATMs“

Estonia knows first-hand about payment system problems. Back in 07 the country faced cyber-attacks that hit banks and ATMs – now they tell people to always carry cash. Other Nordic countries are doing similar things: Norway even made it illegal to refuse cash payments (with fines for stores that dont take it)

The UK might need to think about this too. Admiral Sir Tony Radakin – the UK military chief – says Britain isnt as ready as Nordic countries for big problems. Right now only 12% of UK payments use cash; about 2-in-5 Brits almost never use physical money. Graham Mott from Link ATMs points out: “If something happened that brought war closer more people would think about keeping cash“

Cyber-security expert Professor Alan Woodward warns that digital payments are risky: “If mobile networks go down you cant pay with phones; its not far from what happened before in some places.“ He says attacks on payment systems are a real risk – just look at whats happening in Ukraine