The Swedish e-krona: a means of guaranteeing the possibility of making payments for all

Digitalisation has entailed large and rapid changes on payment markets. New technology and new patterns in payments have led to a decline in the role of cash and in an increased role in digital payment. This paper elaborates and explain some of these structural change with a focus on the question of why a state would choose to issue a CBDC. We state that it is unavoidable that countries and regions will introduce electronic money in various forms when cash disappears as an efficient and viable alternative for small payments. This article puts forward the view that payments should be regarded as a collective utility and that the public sector should continue to be involved in the payment market. The most important reason for this is that the state has a responsibility to maintain confidence in the monetary system. We state that an introduction of a well-designed CBDC could contribute to ensuring that the general public has access to a functioning state-issued risk-free means of payment in a digital future. By issuing a CBDC, the state can contribute to variety and competition on the payment market. A CBDC can also contribute to increase the possibility for functioning payments even in times of unease and crisis, and also give the general public a means of payment with a high level of integrity. We conclude without a state-guaranteed means of payment, there is a risk that confidence in the economic system will change fundamentally in a way that we cannot foresee today.