After a few years of research, Swedish central bank, Sveriges Riksbank (Riksbank) came to the conclusion that cash usage in the country is becoming a rare habit. It plans to adapt to the changing times by working on a pilot project to create its own national cryptocurrency, e-Krona. Thus, the regulator intends to provide the digital assets, aiming at the cashless payment system to be developed in the country’s near future.

According to representatives of Riksbank, the project is striving to develop and further integrate a proven and ready-to-use e-Krona. The regulator intends to create a tool with the ability to track transactions without additional fees for settlement operations.

As part of the pilot project scheduled for 2019, developers will also try to create a solution that will allow its citizens to pay with e-Krona using a card or a mobile application. In addition, before launching the digital currency, the bank intends to settle all regulatory and legal obligations.

According to the Riksbank payment unit’s lawyer and advisor, Monika Johansson, the regulator is already cooperating with banks in introducing digital currencies into circulation. However, for electronic payment instruments to be used by residents of the country, the approval of the legislators is necessary, she noted.

Also, representatives of Riksbank noted that within a few years, Sweden may come to a complete rejection of cash retail payments, which will be facilitated by the approval of the initiative of the regulator.

Niklas Arvidsson, a researcher at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, predicted that Sweden would become the first country in the world to refuse cash.