Swedish Competition Agency Rejects Forcing Banks to Handle Cash
A customer uses an automated teller machine (ATM) in Stockholm, Sweden.
Photographer: Johan Jeppsson/Bloomberg
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Sweden’s competition and financial watchdogs both opposed a proposal made by lawmakers to force the country’s largest banks to handle cash as they try to limit a rapid development into a cashless society.
In a consultation response to the proposal, the Swedish Competition Authority said the plan would distort competition as it affects only a few of the banks. The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority also opposed the proposal, saying that securing access to cash should be a responsibility of the state.