The world’s oldest central bank, Sweden’s Riksbank, was the first to issue paper banknotes in the 1660s. Now it is launching a project to examine what a central bank-backed digital currency would look like and what challenges it would pose. It hopes to take a decision on whether to start issuing what it calls an “e-krona” within two years.

Sweden has seen a dramatic drop in the use of cash – down 40% since 2009.

Cecilia Skingsley, deputy governor at the Riksbank: “This is as revolutionary as the paper note 300 years ago. What does it mean for monetary policy and financial stability? How do we design this: a rechargeable card, an app or another way?” Cecilia Skingsley gave a speech today at a Fin-Tech conference in Stockholm. She pointed out that the “e-krona” will not replace cash and other means of payment but would function as a complement.

Other central banks such the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada have started looking at the potential benefits and challenges of digital currencies such as bitcoin.

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Images: Sveriges Riksbank

A recently published report by the World Bank places Sweden as the 9th easiest places to do business in out of 190 countries surveyed. The 2017 edition of the report, which is the 14th instalment of the annual study, appraises policies and regulations which boosts business activities in a country. Besides cost, other notable factors taken into consideration by foreign investors when assessing a country for investments include political and economic stability, risks, business policies, transparency, monetary and fiscal policies, bureaucracy, human capital, logistics, infrastructure and intellectual property protection.

In contrast to Sweden’s reputation for tricky bureaucracy, this year’s report shows it is becoming a more efficient place for business, with increased administrative efficiency highlighted, as well as praise for new automatic registration of mortgages and renewal of ownership.

The report ranks New Zealand as the best, Singapore as the second best and Denmark as the third best countries in the world for doing business. Overall the Nordic countries scored high with Norway as 6th and Finland as 13th.

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