Sweden is the first country to become cashless society

Sweden is going to be the first country to be a cashless society as it is going to get rid of banknotes. This country is home to the music streaming service Spotify and the maker of the Candy Crush mobile games, and has been lured by the innovations that make digital payments easier. Already many of the country's banks no longer accept or dispense cash. But the shift toward a digital economy appears inadvisable to some Swedes, and critics are warning of the rising risks that come with paying by app and plastic versus bills and coins.

In the most cashless society on the planet, sellers of Sweden's answer to the Big Issue have been equipped with portable card readers to accept virtual payments.

According to IB Times, there are 2 percent bills and coins in the Sweden economy at present, compared with an average of 10 percent in the other European countries and 7.7 percent in the U.S. Cards are mainly used in Sweden to make payments in large-with nearly 2.4 billion credit and debit transactions in 2013, compared with 213 million 15 years earlier. But there is a rise of apps for everyday commerce.

"There was such a feeling of insecurity," Ulvaeus told the New York Times. "It made me think: What would happen if this was a cashless society, and the robbers couldn't sell what they stole?" For Ulvaeus, whose son has been robbed multiple times, it's a matter of security, and that's why ABBA: The Museum in Stockholm does not accept bills and coins.

Livemint says that, cash will not become extinct. The Swedish central bank predicts that it will decline fast, but still be circulating in 20 years. Large number of people are moving towards electronic payments. When a team, surveyed students at the University of Gothenburg, it was found that students almost exclusively used cards and electronic payments. "No one uses cash," said Hannah Ek, 23. "I think our generation can live without it." The downside, she conceded, was that it was easy to spend without thinking. "I do spend more," Ek said. "But if I had a 500 krona bill, I would think twice about spending it all." (Five hundred kronor is about $58.)

Meanwhile, the move toward ditching cash is frustrating those who prefer bills and coins over digital money. Curt Persson, chairman of Sweden's National Pensioners' Organization, said it's become a problem for older adults in rural areas who don't have credit cards or don't know how to use them in ATMs. There are towns where it isn't at all possible anymore to enter a bank and use cash.

With a system where a government-sponsored form of identification would be required to use any form of electronic payment, the government can watch exactly what you're doing if you purchase things only electronically. This would give the government complete control over who could use the system and who could not.