Cecilia Skingsley: Should the Riksbank issue e-krona?

Speech by Ms Cecilia Skingsley, Deputy Governor of the Sveriges Riksbank, at FinTech Stockholm 2016, Stockholm, 16 November 2016.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Should the Riksbank issue electronic means of payment in the same way as we now issue cash? This is a natural question for a central bank, as technological advances create new opportunities, as the printing press once upon a time made it possible to print banknotes. Banknotes were a complement to the minted coins, and are so today too. Similarly, an electronic means of payment, say an e-krona, could be a complement to physical cash. This is the question I intend to discuss today. The question is particularly relevant for us in Sweden, as cash is being used to a declining extent and is sometimes difficult to get hold of.