its own. at the same time, new technology is leading to new, convenient ways of paying becoming available, such as the mobile application swish, for example. in sweden, 6. 5 million of 10 million inhabitants are connected to swish. as the rest of society becomes digitalised, demand is increasing for digital payments and, above all, for rapid payments that can be made in real time. for the riksbank, this means adjusting or complementing the rix system so that it is able to manage instant payments in a secure and efficient manner. it is important to ensure that all participants involved in payments act under equal and equitable rules. at the moment, we are busy analysing whether we can take advantage of our european cooperation by joining the european central bank ’ s system for instant payments. 4 we are aware, however, that this would mean that part of our infrastructure for payments would thereby end up outside sweden ’ s borders and are thus mulling over whether some kind of domestic back - up would be needed and over how the ekrona could be paired with this as a complementary means of payment. this is particularly important as we expect instant payments to become increasingly important in the future. the trend towards a cashless society has also continued – a trend that risks leaving sweden without functioning cash in the near future. my speech two years ago was part of a proactive strategy to create different alternative courses of action from this trend. as the e - krona is something new, it will take time to analyse and perhaps develop such an alternative. this work must therefore be initiated in the riksbank sent out a consultation over joining tips on 5 june 2018. see consultation on instant payments and the riksbank's role in the payment infrastructure. www. riksbank. se. 2 good time, before cash usage has declined to such a point that cash is no longer a generally accepted means of payment in sweden. the riksbank's e - krona project : results and the way forward in my speech, i introduced the discussion of the e - krona by asking whether the riksbank should adapt the money we issue to the modern, digital economy. i emphasised then that the e - krona should be seen as a complement to cash, which was in the process of becoming marginalised. i also pointed out the need of working in parallel in three areas : investigating the technical possibilities, analysing the consequences for, among other things

, m. ( 2018 ) “ the e - krona and the macro economy ” sveriges riksbank economic review no. 3, and juks, r. ( 2018 ) “ when a central bank digital currency meets private money : effects of an e - krona on banks ”. sveriges riksbank economic review, no. 3. sveriges riksbank. 6 see “ secure access to cash ”. interim report from the riksbank committee. sou 2018 : 42. 3 stricted the general public ’ s ability to use cash, but other factors such as technological progress, changed consumption patterns and the lack of legal requirements forcing traders to accept cash are probably more important. for example, in its report “ grundlaggande betaltjanster i en digitaliserad framtid ( essential payment services in a digitalised future ) ” 7, the swedish post and telecom authority ( pts ) writes that “ even if the cash infrastructure is maintained and cash is available, cash will not necessarily be fully usable in the future ”. the most recent results of the riksbank ’ s survey of payment patterns in sweden also show that the proportion paying in cash is continuing to decrease, while swish payments are increasing. so, even if the proposals of the riksbank inquiry were to be realised, there would be nothing to prevent shops and other establishments from refusing to accept cash. neither is there any way to induce consumers to use cash. this development seems to be steered at least as much by demand as by supply. 8 in other words, the tendencies that led us to start our analysis of the e - krona are continuing. and neither is the riksbank alone in analysing this issue. many other central banks are expending resources in investigating digital central bank money and a number have already conducted experiments or developed pilot versions. 9 the riksbank has met with many other central banks, politicians with responsibility in sweden and representatives of the private sector. reactions have varied from great enthusiasm to great scepticism. the banking sector in particular often argues that an e - krona is not needed and that launching one would be an intrusion into the private sector. but the riksbank ’ s presence on the market and competition with the private sector ’ s payment services are actually nothing new. when private banknotes were first issued in the 1830s, the riksbank had already been active in the issuance of banknotes for