Norway can be a society without cash. It will provide banks tremendous power

Money has a long history. The first coins were minted in Lydia in Greece almost 2500 years ago, with the king We as a guarantor. In 1661 the pressure Stockholms Banco – the precursor to the Riksbanken – the first pengesedlene in Europe.

Now look kontantenes future short and hectic. In countries such as Norway and Sweden are the electronic payment systems completely dominant, and strong forces pushing on the to cease all use of the cash. A bank account can be just as livsnødvendig as a citizenship.

the Trend towards a society without the cash has gone on filttøfler. Without great pomp, banks have pushed customers into different electronic payment solutions. It has happened because many of the solutions are good, but also because banks systematically removed the options or priced them out of the market.

First disappeared the branches and we were reassured with kontantautomater. Now is the vending machines on the way out, and the price of taking out your own money in the bank is high. Large hotel chains to declare that they are kontantfrie, even they by law can't refuse to accept the notes and coins from Norges Bank. Various trade associations, pushing on, and there is movement in the political parties.

According to Norges Bank represents notes and coins less than 2.5 per cent of the money supply. The rest is on the account at the banks. Eight of ten use cards as a form of payment, regardless of the amount. Nevertheless, starting the unrest to spread. In Sweden, headed kontantopprøret of the country's former rikspolitisjef Bjorn Eriksson. He says: "To deprive the citizens the ability to use the cash is to lead them right into a digital dictatorship".

He is in no way alone. Also advocates for riksbanker across Europe have pointed to the dangers, albeit in milder language. Among these are governor Jon Nicolaisen as in a lecture in the year in particular pointed to the four conditions. In shortened form these were:

• In the kontantløse society, it is no longer possible to make up a payment directly between the two parties. You have to go through the bank, the card issuer or the app.

• We're dependent on that technology works.

• We are no longer anonymous when we pay. When we pay with kontopenger can all transactions be recorded.

• We no longer get access to the money that the Norwegian government stands directly behind, and that is a functioning, legal tender. The monetary system is left to private.

It now takes place can be compared to do banks and card issuers to finansvesenets Google. Our payments and revenues gives revealing information about our person, down to the most intimate. One has to be extremely trusting to believe that such information will never be utilized commercially, misused or stolen.

cyber attacks against the banking system runs without ceasing, and the methods are becoming more refined. In a wartime or crisis situation there will be great danger that the systems will be turned out directly, or as a result of the suspension of the power supplies. Without cash society will in such a situation is completely stop to work. In Norway we have regular situations where the payment systems go down.

the reckoning function, it must have trust, be safe, be widespread and offer various products and services. The story clearly shows that there is a need for a central bank and the government and laws that control, regulate and give the system confidence. In the electronic future, there is also space for the central bank and new forms of anonymous cash that provides privacy. Norges Bank works to consider such solutions.

One possibility is to introduce electronic sentralbankpenger. In one such solution, people can be offered the account directly in Norges Bank or in a system bank checks. Another possibility is that the central bank issues the plastic card or develop an app that people can pay with anonymously. The statutory, mandatory payment method can be the classic cash, sentralbankpenger, or both.

Banking and card companies have taken advantage of the electronic developments to acquire a dominant position in key parts of the economic infrastructure. It is the customers that pay for.

But the use of electronics can also be used the other way: to give the central bank a far stronger role in the payment system than in the day.

It allows for new and great opportunities, but also for important political decisions about privatization, government's place in the finansvesenet and privacy. Payment terminal is more political than you think.

it Continues like this we will need to work actively to ensure that English is the dominant language Comment