LONDON — Swedish utility Bankomat CEO Nina Wenning discussed the decline of the bank branch in Sweden at Branch Transformation 2022, the leading conference dedicated to branch design, customer experience and strategy-driven transformation, on Nov. 29 at the Park Plaza: Riverside Hotel in London.
“We have a central bank in Sweden that effectively gave up on cash in 2000. No bank branches distribute cash any more in Sweden,” Wenning said.
“Retailers don’t accept cash as a means of payment either,” she added, while outlining the retreat of cash and branch banks in Sweden and the consequent need for automation technology.
Bankomat is a collation of five banks in Sweden — Swedbank, SEB, Danske Bank, Nordea and Handelsbanken — that offers a shared utility service that is open to all and provides ATM cash access for all consumers.
The utility’s shared service model ensures that cash can still be distributed in the country, even as usage declines. “We merged [creating our utility services in response] and built something new [to ensure continuity of cash services],” Wenning said, highlighting challenges of the decline of cash in Sweden:
- 40% of transactions and commerce in Sweden in 2010 used cash; and
- That number is down to less than 10% in 2022 and is still declining.
“ATM usage has declined too. We need to cope with fewer suppliers, higher dependencies and avoid excess capacity,” she added.
The changing scene in Sweden and need for a shared utility model, like Bankomat, was further illustrated by the following numbers indicating the decline in ATM and cash services in the country:
- In 2014 there were 2,100 ATMs and 16 cash depots;
- In 2022 there are 1,500 ATMs and 4 cash depots; and
- In 2025 –there are projected to be 1,000 ATMs and 2 cash depots.
Game-changing Swedish regulation protects cash access
In 2021, regulation went into effect that may halt the decline of cash and ATM usage in Sweden.
The new regulation, which is an amendment to the Swedish Act on Payment Services, requires that most residents have access to cash withdrawal and deposit capabilities via an ATM or branch within 25 km of their homes.
“It has been a challenge for us [to adhere to this],” Wenning said, referencing the geography of the country and the number of smaller communities in Sweden that lie outside of larger cities, where cash access is needed.
“We’re down to core cash users in Sweden now, with the elderly, immigrants and others still continuing to use our [ATMs], so I don’t think cash will totally disappear,” she added.
Bank Automation Summit US 2023, taking place March 2-3 in Charlotte, is a crucial event on automation and automation technology in banking. Learn more and register for Bank Automation Summit US 2023.
