[dal]

In Sweden we are super reliant on digital payments and a lot of stores don't even accept cash any more. Most people don't carry cash only digital payments. This simplifies for the stores/restaurants and maybe decreases the risk of handling larger amounts of cash. I love the simplicity of digital payments and not having to bother with change and such. We even have an app called Swish (set up by Swedish banks) that does free money transfer between people and can also do payments to stores.

Every once in a while some pensioner organisation or so starts a debate about them not understanding how to pay their bills via an app and that they can't shop at some stores/restaurants only taking payments via an app (Swish). Some seniors might not have a smartphone or are unable to use it.

But the real and much bigger issue is what happens in case of a crisis. Like a huge power outage or the rolling blackouts that might come this winter depending on how the power situation develops in Europe. Or in case of natural disaster or war. We have historically had a very stable power grid and society so most people don't even think about what they would do if their digital payment methods just stopped working. I don't think it benefits our society that we are unable to make payments without technology.