2018-10-31 Wed

A company named Crane Currency was given the contract to print paper money for Sweden. However, in May 2018, the company decided to shut down its plant in Sweden and shift the same to a new Printing office in Malta. Riksbank is Sweden’s central bank which had sold its printing facility in Tumba to Crane Currency in 2002. The company was expected to continue printing banknotes for Sweden.

When Crane Currency decided to shift its operations, the central bank officials were disappointed. The agreement between Crane Currency and Riksbank was terminated on 19th July and the search for a new supplier began soon after that.

Sweden has now signed a three-year agreement with the British company De La Rue. However, the printing process will not take place in Sweden but in the United Kingdom. According to the requirements of Riksbank, the notes must be printed in northern or central Europe.

As per the latest trends, more and more people in Sweden prefer digital or cashless transactions over paper money. In fact, many businesses do not accept cash during retail transactions. The number of ATMs in the country has reduced by 17 per cent since 2002 as per experts.

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