Payment during a crisis
Have cash at home
The Riksbank recommends that all households have 1000 Swedish kronor in cash per adult at home, preferably in different denominations. This is intended to cover a week's worth of essential purchases. The amount is approximate, as it depends on how many people are in the household and what specific needs they have. It is also a good idea to use cash from time to time to keep the cash system running.
Ensure you can pay in several different ways
Have accounts with different banks, cards from different payment card providers (e.g. Visa and Mastercard) and access to mobile payment solutions, such as Swish.
Have several options for internet connection.
Have several options for identifying yourself electronically (e.g. BankID and a security token for your bank).
If you usually use contactless payment (e.g. Apple Pay or Google Pay), you should also have your physical payment cards available. In the event of an outage, the cards' chips can be used to make offline payments.
Have a week’s worth of home preparedness
It is good if you can go a week without buying food. This will reduce the need to be able to pay in the event of a crisis. Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency has examples on questions you can discuss with family, friends and neighbours:
- What home preparedness do you have in terms of water bottles, food, medicines etc?
- What do you not have at home that may need to be purchased during the first week?
- What alternative methods for payments do you have?
- What alternatives do you have if your usual shop is affected by disruptions in payment systems?
- What possibilities do you have to help others and who in your neighbourhood can help you?