Sweden has become a largely cashless society (Getty)

Most of us rely on banking apps and contactless cards and mobile payments – but what if it all suddenly stopped working?

That’s the thinking behind a government agency in Sweden which has urged every household to stockpile ‘cash in small denominations’.

Sweden’s Civil Contingencies agency issued the guidance amid concerns over the potential risk of cyber attacks on banks, or even power cuts.

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Stockholm’s Royal Institute of Technology says that only 18% of payments made in Sweden are in cash.

In December, Britain’s Access to Cash Review warned that Britain too was ‘sleepwalking into a cashless society’, the Daily Mail reported.

Chair Natalie Ceeney said, ‘If we don’t take action now in this country, we’re only a couple of years away from Sweden.

‘Sweden’s big message to us is, “Plan now before you get into a mess.” Sweden hit its crisis when its equivalent of the NHS declared it was going cashless.’