Sweden is getting closer and closer to issuing its own central bank digital currency (CBDC), as it already started testing the e-krona.

The pilot program for the new digital currency is supposed to last for a year and thus, to end in February 2021. It’s not yet clear when the e-krona will be launched and made available to the public, but one thing’s for sure: a blockchain-based currency would improve the banking activities and payments in the country. Therefore, credit cards would no longer be swiped as transactions would be moved to the blockchain and no longer use fiat currencies.

After the Bahamas, Sweden is the second country to reveal its plans about working on a national cryptocurrency. In December 2019, the Bahamas launched a CBDC pilot program that’s expected to be rolled out during 2020’s second half. While China has also talked a lot about the development of its own CBDC, it seems things aren’t as serious as in Sweden or the Bahamas. It doesn’t come as a surprise that Sweden wants the e-krona seeing the country almost no longer use cash anymore.

Riksbank will analyze whether Sweden is ready or not to implement a CBDC in an efficient manner. The consultancy firm developing the e-krona is called Accenture. Preliminary tests in sandbox testnet are already being run by this company. 80% out of all payments in the country are being made through other means rather than cash.

This means the implementation of a CBDC will be an easy process for the Swedish citizens who are already used to not having money on them, not to mention the transition from credit and debit card payments to a digital currency is simpler. Germany, for example, would most likely have a problem implementing a CDBC, seeing German people are still using cash to make most of their payments.

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