News

The downside of cashless: An ATM shortage

September 20, 2013

Living in a cashless society is fine — until you want cash, as citizens of Sweden have discovered. Then just try and find an ATM. 

Ice News reports that Sweden now has the second lowest ATM-to-population ratio in the EU, with an average of 3.2 machines per 10,000 people.

On the other hand, the company is one of the highest ranking countries for non-cash payments. A recent report said the country potentially could be entirely cash-free by 2030.

Bankomat AB president Stefan Bergelind said that withdrawals at cash machines were declining annually by six to ten percent. 

Not everyone's happy about that, Ice News said. In the town of Varmland, pensioners protested when another cash machine was bricked up. Nordea bank assured protesters that it would install a new ATM in the town by year's end.

Read more about trends and statistics.