sou · H6B342 · 2018-06-11 00:00:00 — Rapid decline in the use of cash is moving very rapidly towards reduced cash use. This reduction in the amount of cash in circulation in society and the share of cash payments in the economy makes almost unique in an international perspective. The amount of cash in circulation in was billion in 2018, equivalent to 1.2 per cent of GDP. This is the lowest cash to GDP ratio among all comparable countries. The share of cash payments in retail dropped from almost 40 per cent in 2010 to around 15 per cent in 2016. Banks have contributed to this trend in part by the number of bank branches providing cash services falling by more than half between 2011 and 2016. The number of business operators that have stopped accepting cash appears to be increasing. As many as half the retailers surveyed in 2018 stated that they would stop accepting cash before 2025.1 In 2017, however, almost all retailers still accepted cash. 1Arvidsson et al. (2018). Cash use differs greatly in various segments of the population. Cash is used more often by some older people, newly arrived immigrants and individuals with varying functional abilities than by the rest of the population. The cash management chain is vulnerable The cash management chain includes cash provision (the Riksbank issuing banknotes and coins), cash handling (cash depots, cash processing and cash-in-transit services), access to cash services (cash withdrawals and deposits) and, finally, the possibility to pay by cash. All parts of the cash management chain are closely linked and interdependent. The cash management chain is characterised generally by economies of scale and network effects, leading to synergies and inhibiting competition. This is reinforced by the fact that the cash market is in a downward trend. Furthermore, this decline has accelerated in recent years. Cash handling in society is currently taken care of by a few private actors, primarily the depot owner and cash-in-transit companies and . This makes the cash management chain vulnerable. Access to cash services may decline dramatically The Riksdag has decided that everyone in society must have access to basic payment services at reasonable prices. This includes the opportunity to make cash withdrawals, payment processing, and the possibility for associations and businesses to deposit their daily receipts. The county administrative boards are responsible for improving access to basic payment services. Authority (PTS) is to support the work of the county administrative boards. In the Committee’s view, however, it is primarily the market that must provide basic payment services. Access to cash services in the form of deposits to and withdrawals from bank accounts has generally declined. This is largely because the number of bank branches providing cash services has fallen by more than half since 2011. Access to cash services, defined as the distance to locations where daily receipts can be deposited and withdrawals can be made, is most limited in rural areas. The decline in cash use makes it likely that it will not be possible to maintain cash- in-transit services or access to cash services on commercial grounds in more and more areas in . will it be possible to use cash as a means of payment throughout the country without cash-in- transit services or the possibility to make deposits and withdrawals. ’s starting points In the Committee’s view, cash management measures should help achieve the target set by the Riksdag that everyone in society must have access to basic payment services at reasonable prices. This target must be achieved even in the face of declining cash use. One of the Committee’s starting points is that there are advantages to reduced cash use, as electronic payments are generally more efficient than physical ones. Reduced cash use may also lower the risk of robbery and curb money laundering. On the other hand, cash continues to be an important means of payment for a not insignificant proportion of the population. Cash use may also help reduce society’s vulnerability and enhance preparedness. Another starting point is that central government should work to make certain that developments concerning access to cash services continue to take place under controlled conditions to ensure that the cash needs of the general public and society are met. In the Committee’s view, these developments should entail no reduction in the number of households, businesses and associations that have access to basic payment services. A related point of departure is that developments should not move more quickly than would enable central government to determine democratically, and with sufficient information to inform de- cision-making, which means of payment should be available in the future, particularly regarding means of payment provided by the Riksbank. This information should include, for example, an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of a possible eKrona and of the significance of cash in terms of the payment market’s vulnerability and need for preparedness. Such information is also needed to assess whether digital payment solutions could satisfy the requirement that everyone must have access to basic payment services. Cash and an effective cash infrastructure must not be allowed to disappear before a position can be taken on these issues. In the Committee’s view, access to cash withdrawals and the possibility for businesses and associations to deposit their daily receipts must be improved to strengthen cash’s position in society. Initiatives should primarily target rural areas, where access to cash services is already significantly more limited with respect to distance than in the rest of the country and where there is greatest risk that cash-in- transit and cash services will disappear completely. While the position of cash is being strengthened, the ongoing technical development of the payment market should not be opposed. Existing cash management infrastructure and access to cash services should be safeguarded for economic reasons. Cooperation on infrastructure and common solutions in the cash management chain should also be encouraged. Requirement for certain banks to provide reasonable access to cash services In the Committee’s view, banks have a particular responsibility to provide access to cash services in society. This central role in payment processing makes it unreasonable for banks to abdicate their responsibility to handle a certain means of payment as long as it is needed in society. also believes that all bank , including those that have need of cash, must be able to use banks’ payment accounts. therefore proposes that certain Swedish joint-stock banks and foreign credit institutions should be required to provide cash withdrawals and process daily receipts to the extent that reasonable access to these is provided throughout . Only joint-stock banks and foreign credit institutions with deposits from the public in in excess of billion are included in the proposals. A further condition with respect to access to cash withdrawals is that the bank or credit institution offers consumers payment accounts with basic functions. This means that six institutions will currently be covered by the requirements. ‘Reasonable access’ is specified as a maximum of 0.30 per cent of the population (approximately 30 000 individuals in 2017) having to more than 25 kilometres to a location to make cash withdrawals and a maximum of 1.22 per cent of the population (approximately 122 000 individuals in 2017) having to more than 25 kilometres to a location to deposit their daily receipts into an account. These requirements mean a 15 per cent reduction in the number of individuals who have to more than 25 kilometres to the nearest service point compared with the level in 2017. The locations providing cash services that have been granted state aid cannot be included in order to meet these requirements. notes that private individuals also need to be able to deposit cash in their bank accounts, making it important that banks retain the possibility for private individuals to make deposits. Although it is not proposed that cash deposits by private individuals be covered by the legal requirements, the Committee considers that access to this service will also increase. This is expected to result from the fact that the requirements are expected in part to be achieved by banks having automated for both deposits and withdrawals or an agreement with a payment services agent that normally accepts deposits from private individuals as well. Reasonable access also means that services must be offered during certain hours and at reasonable prices. It is proposed that PTS be given regulatory authority with respect to this and other matters. It is also proposed that PTS be instructed to produce documentation on access to cash services every second year, in cooperation with county administrative boards and the Riksbank, and supported by geo-demographical data from the for Economic and Regional Growth’s online tool ‘Pipos Serviceanalys’. Where necessary, this documentation will include a recommendation to the Government on adjustments to the requirements on reasonable access. The Government will then decide on any adjustments to the requirements. Although the requirement to provide cash services will apply individually to each bank or institution, no interventions or sanctions will arise if reasonable access is available at an overall level, i.e. for all the banks taken together. PTS will be responsible for monitoring overall access to the cash services included in the new requirements in the Act. Providers of payment services will be required to submit the necessary information to PTS. If there is any overall deviation from the target in relation to the requirements, i.e. if more than 0.30 per cent or 1.22 per cent, respectively, of the population has to more than 25 kilometres to access services for withdrawing cash or processing daily receipts, PTS will first offer the relevant banks and institutions the opportunity to express their views. When the deadline for expressing views has expired, PTS will notify (Swedish financial supervisory authority). Where applicable, will order the relevant institutions to take measures to remedy the situation within a certain time frame, i.e. concerning any individual deviation from the target. will then decide on a financial penalty for those joint-stock banks that do not meet the requirements for providing cash services. The financial penalty will be determined using a specific basis of calculation, based partly on the size of the individual target deviation and partly on the institution’s proportion of deposits from the public in relative to the other banks and institutions covered by the requirements. Monitoring the target deviation at both overall and individual level will be supported by data from the for Economic and Regional Growth’s data tool Pipos Serviceanalys. It is therefore proposed that Pipos Serviceanalys be reinforced and incorporated into the regular operations of the for Economic and Regional Growth. Existing central government measures supplement the requirements The work of PTS and the county administrative boards on access to basic payment services should continue largely in the same way as today. This applies to both the general work carried out by the authorities and the support to companies regulated in the Ordinance on state aid to providers of basic payment services (2014:139). These central government measures are expected to supplement the requirements that the Committee proposes be placed on certain banks. proposes that the Ordinance on state aid to providers of basic payment services (2014:139) be expanded so that aid can also be disbursed to companies that enable other companies to provide basic payment services. The relevant authorities should also ensure that the possibility of applying for state aid for basic payment services becomes more widely known via expanded information campaigns etc. The Riksbank’s responsibilities concerning cash provision and cash management Responsibility for effective cash management throughout the country – in the form of cash depots, cash processing and cash-in-transit services – is unclear. No authority has been given a clearly identified overall responsibility for cash management. The Riksbank has the most inconspicuous role in cash management among comparable central banks. ’s model for the cash management wholesale phase (cash depots) focuses primarily on efficiency and has been entrusted to the private market. Cash depots are currently a private monopoly. This entails a risk that depots close down or that cash and cash service prices increase, which may further hasten the progression towards reduced cash use. Against this background, the Committee considers that it should be clarified in law that the Riksbank is responsible for cash provision in through issuing banknotes and coins. Furthermore, in view of the vulnerability of the cash management chain, the Riksbank should be given overall responsibility for cash management in . Cash management includes the wholesale phase, in the form of cash depots, and the retail-sector phase, in the form of cash-in- transport, cash processing and sales of cash to end such as banks and retailers. The Riksbank’s overall responsibility for cash management will comprise monitoring and analysing cash management as a whole, reporting regularly to the Riksdag on the status of cash management in , and heading , in which representatives from the public and private sectors discuss issues concerning cash management in society. Finally, the Riksbank’s responsibility for effective cash depot operations should be clarified in law. Cash depot operations should help ensure that cash can be used as a means of payment throughout . The Riksbank should not be responsible for access to cash services in society. This responsibility should instead fall on the banks and foreign credit institutions covered by the proposed requirements to supply reasonable access to cash services throughout the country. This responsibility will also fall partly on government via measures taken by PTS and the county administrative boards to improve access to basic payment services. will return to the matter of the Riksbank’s responsibilities concerning cash provision and cash management in its final report. Consequences of the Committee’s proposals The proposals will benefit both people and businesses in rural areas as the requirements will ensure that reasonable access to cash services is maintained throughout the country. Groups that use cash to a greater extent, such as certain older people, newly arrived immigrants and individuals with varying functional abilities, will also benefit. It is estimated that the vulnerability of the cash management chain will be reduced as a result of the requirements, since banks are dependent on an effective cash management chain to satisfy the requirements for reasonable access to cash services. The costs for the institutions covered by the requirements concerning reasonable access are expected to increase by between and 15 million per year, including write-offs of installation costs, to create between 25 and 30 new service points for cash withdrawals and the same number of points to process daily receipts from 2020 future savings that do not materialise because certain service points for cash withdrawals and processing daily receipts could not be phased out as a result of the requirements must also be added to this amount. Central government expenditure is expected to increase by –10 million per year primarily due to increased administrative appropriations to relevant government authorities to enable monitoring of the new requirements on certain banks from 2020 onwards. The proposals are also expected to have a positive impact on other major providers of cash services, and the cash-in-transit companies and . This is because the institutions affected by the requirements may need their services more than previously. 1.1Förslag till lag om ändring i lagen (2010:751) om betaltjänster Härigenom föreskrivs i fråga om lagen (2010:751) om betaltjänster dels att 1 kap. 1 och 6 b §§ och 8 kap. 1 och 26 §§ ska ha följande dels att det ska införas ett nytt kapitel, 4 b kap., av följande lydelse. I denna lag finns bestämmelser om betaltjänster som tillhandahålls i och utförs inom det Europeiska ekonomiska samarbetsområdet (EES). I denna lag finns också bestämmelser om betalningsinstitut och registrerade betaltjänstleverantörer. I 4 a kap. finns bestämmelser om 1.avgifter för betalkonto, 2.byte av betalkonto, 3.kreditinstituts skyldighet att tillhandahålla betalkonto med grundläggande funktioner till en konsument. I 4 b kap. finns bestämmelser om tillgången till kontanttjänster. 1Senaste lydelse 2018:175. Denna lag gäller inte en tjänst Denna lag, med undantag för som endast möjliggör uttag av kontanter med hjälp av uttags- dighet i 4 b kap. 7 §, gäller inte en automater, om den som till- tjänst som endast möjliggör ut- tag av kontanter med hjälp av ut- tagsautomater, om den som till- 1.agerar för en eller flera kortutgivares räkning, 2.inte är part i ramavtalet med den kund som tar ut medel från ett betalkonto, 3.inte tillhandahåller sådana andra betaltjänster som anges i 2 §, 4.informerar kunden om eventuella uttagsavgifter eller växelkurs i4 kap. 3, 4, 7 och 8 §§ innan uttaget görs och när kontanterna lämnas ut. Ett bankaktiebolag enligt lagen (2004:297) om bank- och finansieringsrörelse som i tillhandahåller betalkonton med grundläggande funktioner till konsumenter ska tillhandahålla de tjänster som avses i 4 a kap. 2 § 3 i en sådan utsträckning att det finns en rimlig tillgång till dem i hela . Kravet i första stycket gäller under förutsättning att bankaktiebolaget per närmast före- 2Senaste lydelse 2018:175. gående år hade mer än i inlåning från svensk allmänhet. Med kravet i 1 § första stycket på att tillhandahålla tjänster avses att konsumenter ska kunna ta ut kontanter i svenska kronor från betalkonton med grundläggande funktioner i det aktuella bankaktiebolaget. Ett bankaktiebolag enligt lagen (2004:297) om bank- och finansieringsrörelse som tillhandahåller betalkonton till juridiska personer i ska hantera dagskassor i en sådan utsträckning att det finns en rimlig tillgång till denna tjänst i hela . Kravet i första stycket gäller under förutsättning att bankaktiebolaget per närmast föregående år hade mer än i inlåning från svensk allmänhet. Med kravet i 3 § första stycket på att hantera dagskassor avses att ta emot kontanter i svenska kronor som härstammar från en näringsverksamhet eller en verksamhet som drivs av en ideell förening och att för näringsidkarens eller föreningens räkning sätta in pengarna på ett betalkonto i det aktuella bankaktiebolaget. Undantag från kravet på att hantera dagskassor Ett sådant bankaktiebolag som avses i 3 § behöver inte i ett enskilt fall hantera en dagskassa, om det skulle strida mot lagen (2009:62) om åtgärder mot penningtvätt och finansiering av terrorism eller om det finns särskilda skäl mot det. Vid tillämpningen av bestämmelserna i 1 § första stycket, 2 §, 3 § första stycket samt 4 och 5 §§ ska ett utländskt kreditinstitut jämställas med ett bankaktiebolag, om det utländska kreditinstitutet 1. driver verksamhet från en filial i , och 2. i filialen hade mer än i inlåning från svensk allmänhet per närmast föregående år. Det som anges om ett bankaktiebolag i bestämmelserna enligt första stycket ska i stället avse det utländska kreditinstitutet. Tillhandahållare av betaltjänster ska lämna de uppgifter som myndigheten anser vara nödvändiga för 1.att bedöma om kraven i 1 § första stycket och 3 § första stycket och i föreskrifter som har meddelats med stöd av denna lag är uppfyllda, och 2.bedömningen enligt 8 § andra stycket. får besluta att sådana uppgifter som avses i första stycket ska lämnas till . Om det finns skäl för det får förelägga en tillhandahållare av betaltjänster vid vite att lämna sådana uppgifter som avses i första stycket. Om ett bankaktiebolag eller ett utländskt kreditinstitut har åsidosatt sina skyldigheter enligt bestämmelserna i 1 § första stycket eller 3 § första stycket eller föreskrifter som har meddelats med stöd av denna lag, ska underrätta det berörda bolaget eller institutet och ge det tillfälle att yttra sig i frågan om överträdelse. Om , trots ett sådant yttrande eller när tiden för yttrande har löpt ut, fortfarande bedömer att bolaget eller institutet har åsidosatt sina skyldigheter ska underrättas. Det som sägs i första stycket gäller dock inte om 1. bristen avser uttag av kontanter och uttag kan göras i tillräcklig utsträckning från betalkonton med grundläggande funktioner i något annat kreditinstitut enligt lagen (2004:297) om bank- och finansieringsrörelse eller något annat utländskt kreditinstitut, 2. bristen avser hantering av dagskassor och dagskassor kan sättas in på betalkonton i något annat kreditinstitut eller utländskt kreditinstitut i tillräcklig utsträckning, eller 3. om avvikelsen avser färre än 1 000 personer. Institut med tillstånd från Om har underrättats enligt 8 § ska inspektionen ingripa mot de bankaktiebolag som har åsidosatt sina skyldigheter. Detsamma gäller en sådan filial till ett utländskt kreditinstitut som avses i 4 kap. 4 § lagen (2004:297) om bank- och Vad gäller ett ingripande tillämpas 11–17 §§. Utländska kreditinstitut som hör hemma inom EES Om har underrättats enligt 8 § avseende en filial till ett utländskt kreditinstitut som hör hemma inom EES tillämpas bestämmelserna i 15 kap. 15 § lagen (2004:297) om bank- och finansieringsrörelse. Vid ett ingripande enligt 9 § ska först utfärda ett föreläggande om att vidta någon åtgärd för att komma till rätta med situationen. Om ett bankaktiebolag eller ett sådant utländskt kreditinstitut som avses i 4 kap. 4 § lagen (2004:297) om bank- och finansieringsrörelse inte uppfyller de skyldigheter som avses i 8 § trots att ett föreläggande enligt 11 § har utfärdats och tidsfristen har löpt ut, ska besluta att bankaktiebolaget eller det utländska kreditinstitutet ska betala en sanktionsavgift. Avgiften tillfaller staten. Om bristen för ett institut avser såväl uttag av kontanter som hantering av dagskassor ska två sanktionsavgifter beslutas. Trots det som sägs i 12 § första stycket ska avstå från att besluta om en sanktionsavgift om den aktuella kontanttjänsten tillhandahålls av någon annan på det sätt som avses i 8 § andra stycket då tidsfristen enligt föreläggandet för det aktuella bankaktiebolaget eller utländska kreditinstitutet löpte ut. ska också avstå från ett sådant beslut om avvikelsen avser färre än 1 000 personer. får utöver det som sägs i första stycket avstå från att besluta om en sanktionsavgift om överträdelsen är ursäktlig. Beräkning av antalet berörda personer Beräkningen av sanktionsavgiften för vart och ett av de bankaktiebolag eller sådana utländska kreditinstitut som avses i 4 kap. 4 § lagen (2004:297) om bank- och finansieringsrörelse ska baseras på det antal personer, avrundat neråt till närmaste tusental, som inte hade en rimlig tillgång till den aktuella kontanttjänsten såvitt gäller betalkonton i det aktuella bankaktiebolaget eller utländska kreditinstitutet när tidsfristen för föreläggande enligt 11 § löpte ut (antalet berörda personer). Om bristen avser såväl uttag av kontanter som hantering av dagskassor ska två sådana beräkningar göras. Vid beräkningen av sanktions-