The Curse of Cashlessness: Digital Exclusion in Sweden’s Cash-Free Society

Description

Sweden is transitioning to cashlessness faster than any other country in the world. Many shops and restaurants declare themselves ‘cash-free zones,’ bus tickets often have to be bought via an app, and over half of bank branches no longer accept cash deposits. This rapid transition is causing serious exclusion across Swedish society, locking certain groups out of the economy and precluding them from accessing services. At the same time, banks are the main providers of the digital ID that people must use to access online government services in Sweden.

In this conversation on October 5, 2022, we ask: what does the world’s most cashless society tell us about the human rights implications of cashlessness, from exclusion to increased private control over payments markets? And, as the Swedish government attempts to put brakes on these rapid developments through seeking to legally guarantee access to cash, we ask: what is the role of government within the transition to cashlessness?

Speaker: Lena Halldenius, Professor of Human Rights Studies at Lund University, Sweden

Moderators:
Victoria Adelmant, Research Scholar on the Digital Welfare State & Human Rights Project at the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice
Katelyn Cioffi, Research Scholar on the Digital Welfare State & Human Rights Project at the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice

Period	2022 Oct 5
Held at	New York University, United States, New York
Degree of Recognition	International