Thursday 7 December 2017

Cash in Sweden




There's no cash in Sweden. Hardly anywhere takes it. It's like there's some anti-cash taskforce hellbent on eradicating it. There's so little cash that even beggars take "Swish"  direct mobile-to-mobile transfers. 

I paid in cash recently and got a coin in my change. Wow, a coin! It's a 5 kronor, shiny and new and minted in 2016. I would have preferred it scuffed and scarred, but beggars can't be choosers (actually, they chose "Swish"). I hold it up to the light, flip it, eyeball the markings.  My coin isn't even nice  all it's got on it are three splodgy crowns. The metal is thin and light, like toy money. I suppose Sweden makes their money so boring that everyone just sticks with card....nice, observable, traceable card. So safe. So clean. So...easily monitored. "Good show" say the kill-the-cash bureaucrats "Break out the light beer Lasse, cash is down by five fucking percent! HURRA!"     

But a coin is something hard and real. It's not just 'blip-blip-gone'. You can flip it, slap it into your palm. Just for fun. 

I'm keeping it. Those fuckers aren't taking it away from me! 

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