Sweden: Cash Versus Plastic Cards": Sweden’s Push to Get Rid of Cash Has Some Saying, ‘Not So Fast’ - by Liz Alderman

Few countries have been moving toward a cashless society as fast as Sweden. But cash is being squeezed out so quickly — with half the nation’s retailers predicting they will stop accepting bills before 2025 — that the government is recalculating the societal costs of a cash-free future.

The financial authorities, who once embraced the trend, are asking banks to keep peddling notes and coins until the government can figure out what going cash-free means for young and old consumers. The central bank, which predicts cash may fade from Sweden, is testing a digital currency — an e-krona — to keep firm control of the money supply. Lawmakers are exploring the fate of online payments and bank accounts if an electrical grid fails or servers are thwarted by power failures, hackers or even war.

“When you are where we are, it would be wrong to sit back with our arms crossed, doing nothing, and then just take note of the fact that cash has disappeared,” said Stefan Ingves, the governor of Sweden’s central bank, known as the Riksbank. “You can’t turn back time, but you do have to find a way to deal with change.”

Ask most people in Sweden how often they pay with cash, and the answer is “almost never.” A fifth of Swedes, in a country of 10 million people, do not use automated teller machines anymore. More than 4,000 Swedes have implanted microchips in their hands, allowing them to pay for rail travel and food, or enter keyless offices, with a wave. Restaurants, buses, parking lots and even pay toilets depend on clicks rather than cash.

Read more at: Sweden’s Push to Get Rid of Cash Has Some Saying, ‘Not So Fast’ - The New York Times

Banking Industry: Best credit and debit cards to use abroad - Joanna Faith

You don't have to let excessive fees and charges dampen your holiday. Find out which card providers offer the best deal. Taking large amounts of cash on holiday is rarely a good idea which is why most people nowadays use their credit or debit cards abroad.

Cards are quick and efficient to use and can easily be replaced if they get lost or stolen.
But it is important to remember there is nearly always a charge for using your credit and debit cards internationally, so before you step foot out of the country it is worth finding out what you will be charged for and where you will incur charges.

If you are prepared to shop around, there are a number of cards on the market which are free to use abroad.
Holders of the Post Office platinum credit card can use their card for free on purchases made overseas in a foreign currency, even if they are shopping from home, online or over the phone.

Halifax Clarity and Lloyds Bank Choice Rewards and Avios Rewards credit cards are also fee-free for use worldwide. The Lloyds Avios card also allows you to upgrade up to Business Class when you spend £7,000 a year.

Nationwide's Select card offers unlimited commission-free purchases abroad but you will need to be a Nationwide current account customer to apply.

And for the over-50s, Saga's Over 50s Platinum Visa charges 0% on foreign currency fees for transactions worldwide.

If you decide to use your debit card for purchases in shops or restaurants, be warned that fees for foreign use range from 2-3%. For example, Nationwide charges 2% with its FlexAccount. This is a good account for travelling as it includes a Defaqto 5 Star Rated travel insurance policy if you meet the monthly terms of the account.

However, one exception is the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society's Gold Light Current Account which allows holders to use their card for debit card transactions overseas with no charges.
Metro Bank customers can use their cards for free in Europe but from 18 March 2014, there will be a charge for transactions made in the rest of the world.

Here are four essentials tips for travellers from Matt Sanders, banking and credit card spokesperson at Gocompare.com:
• Use credit cards rather than debit cards if you must use plastic abroad as there are more available without foreign transaction fees. If you do use a credit card though, stick to purchases and not cash withdrawals as you may often find a higher APR on cash withdrawals on credit cards.
• If you insist on using your debit card, elect to convert the transaction at the point of sale or withdrawal. This will avoid the non-sterling transaction fees which range from 2 - 3% on many high street accounts.
• Inform your bank that you're travelling and will be using your card abroad to avoid having it blocked and having to waste time, and possibly money, on the phone to get it rectified.

Read more: Best credit and debit cards to use abroad - YourMoney

Credit Cards: soon to become obsolete with the introduction of NFC enabled smartphones

Today, more than 10,000 credit card transactions take place every single second -- and the total value of goods and services purchased with them totals more than euro 1.92 trillion ($2.5 trillion)  per year. But the domination of the plastic credit and debit card might soon be over.

Given that we now use smartphones to do everything from checking the weather to sending emails to watching YouTube videos to getting directions to making restaurant reservations, it only makes sense that we would use them to pay for things, too.

With so-called "near field communication" (NFC) technology we may soon be able to do just that.

This technology allows two NFC-enabled devices placed within a few inches of each other to wirelessly swap data -- meaning you can simply touch your NFC-enabled smartphone to an NFC reader any time you need to pay your bar tab, buy a plane ticket, or even get groceries.

This revolution in payments is already beginning to take shape. In Britain mobile provider Orange has already teamed up with a number of companies including MasterCard and Barclaycard to offer NFC payment options at roughly 50,000 locations around Britain -- including fast-food chains like McDonald's and Subway.

Nokia, Sprint, and Research In Motion are all reported to be working on building NFC-enabled smartphones -- and it is widely rumored that NFC technology may well be a prominent feature of the next iPhone.

Imagine how our daily routines will change if everything works out like the technology's supporters hope it will.

• We'll never have to worry about feeding coins into parking meters or vending machines ever again.
• We won't need tickets to board a train or get into a ball game.
• We won't be asked for our license and registration when we get pulled over, a passport when we cross the border, or an ID when we go to the gym.
• We won't use keys to unlock our cars, our offices, or even our front door.
• Stores and restaurants will no longer give us printed receipts, and business cards will become a thing of the past.

Unfortunately there is one problem with this new technology. What happens to the older folks who can't use a smart phone for a variety of reasons and poor people who can't afford them ? 

EU-Digest