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A new study out of Sweden says the tiny country is on course to become the world's first "cashless society," thanks in part to a mobile payment app called Swish.
The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm released a statement in October quoting researcher Niklas Arvidsson, who said cash is an important means of payment in many countries, "... but that no longer applies here in Sweden."
Arvidsson and his team of researchers said there are about 80 billion Swedish crowns in regular circulation, down from 106 billion six years ago. "And out of that amount, only somewhere between 40 and 60 percent is actually in regular circulation. ... Our use of cash is small, and it is decreasing rapidly."
Swish has more than 3.5 million users (of Sweden's total population of 9.5 million) and nearly 4.5 billion Swedish crowns were "Swished" in October.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 10 2015, @12:50PM
The electric cashier desks won't work, and thus you'll not be able to pay anyway. Not to mention that many shops these days have no windows and would therefore be terribly dark, which also isn't very good for payment.
I'd be more concerned that the battery of my phone runs out (well, actually my first concern would be that it requires me to have a smartphone and always carry it around with me).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 10 2015, @01:43PM
My wallet doesn't need any electricity, so for the shop owner there should be no restriction on accepting the cash that I offer. Might be a bit difficult with change for the first few transactions. In the worst case wares can be taken outside for selling.
(Score: 2) by SomeGuy on Tuesday November 10 2015, @03:57PM
Perhaps the kids think they are too good for it today, but it used to be that when the power went out or computers went down they would just switch to manually writing paper receipts, and then entering the transactions in to the computer later.
(Score: 2) by ledow on Tuesday November 10 2015, @05:30PM
In the dark too? Quite a feat.
In modern places, when that happens, they just shut up shop and send people home. You literally couldn't write the receipts or check the cash (no UV testers!) quick enough to make it worthwhile to stay open. And the security issues (no alarm system, darkness, etc.) would push you into loss very quickly.
Big shopping centres have generator backup. Smaller shops might be able to do some things in cash but you're presuming for a second that the staff behind the counter can count! In my country, that's just not true at all (mathematician, so maybe I'm biased!).
Honestly, unless a big, famous incident occurs like that, nobody will care. And when it does, they'll just buy in more power in other forms (UPS, generator, etc.).
Pretty much, when the power is out, the register won't open, the goods are at risk, the alarms are useless (or going off constantly), nobody wants to shop, your cashiers can't be trusted to count out and properly issue receipts, and they won't be able to securely hold the cash either.
You just shut up shop, come back tomorrow. If no power tomorrow, arrange some. That's how it works.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 10 2015, @09:37PM
My first job was in a grocery store.
The day the power went out, the manager dug out a box of cranks.
Once one of those handles was mated with an electromechanical cash register, purchases could continue to be be rung up.
No sweat.
(It was daytime and there were big windows at the front of the store.)
Now, the customers who hadn't picked out all their stuff did have a difficult time of it farther back in the store.
-- gewg_