Sweden’s central bank has formally asked lawmakers to begin preparatory work on legislation that could enable a digital version of the krona, citing rapid changes in the payments landscape driven in part by the European Central Bank’s advancing it central bank digital currency (CBDC) project. On 15 October 2026, the Riksbank published an official communication to the Committee on Finance.
The letter, dated 7 October, informs parliament of developments that have brought the question of a digital krona—previously called the e-krona—back into focus.
Under the Sveriges Riksbank Act, the central bank may issue a digital means of payment only with the Riksdag’s consent.
The Riksbank itself has not taken a position on whether such a currency should be introduced.
The letter references the 2023 Payments Inquiry, which concluded at the time that there were not sufficiently strong societal needs for a digital krona. That inquiry nonetheless noted that economic, political, and technological shifts could justify a later reassessment.
Several factors have since emerged.
Geopolitical conditions have deteriorated, elevating the importance of payments system resilience as part of national preparedness.
Roughly 95 percent of Sweden’s financial sector consists of private operators, and the system faces hybrid threats including cyberattacks.
A digital krona could provide households and firms with an additional payment option grounded in Swedish and European infrastructure, including the ability to complete offline transactions during electricity or telecommunications disruptions.
Parallel progress on the digital euro is another major driver.
The European Commission proposed a regulation in June 2023.
Both the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament have expressed support in their negotiating positions. Trilogue negotiations are expected to conclude in 2026.
The ECB plans a pilot in the second half of 2027 and a possible public launch in 2029.
The digital euro would serve roughly 350 million people across the euro area, function primarily online via mobile devices, support offline payments, and allow conditional payments (distinct from programmable money).
Future European payment solutions, infrastructure, and legislation are likely to be built around the digital euro.
Without a comparable Swedish-currency option, the competitiveness of Sweden’s payments system could erode over time.
The letter also addresses stablecoins—digital assets typically pegged one-to-one to underlying assets, predominantly the US dollar.
Their circulation has grown quickly, mainly for crypto-asset trading, but broader use as a means of payment remains possible. ]
If foreign-currency stablecoins became attractive for everyday transactions, demand for the Swedish krona could face pressure even inside Sweden.
The Riksbank judges this near-term risk to be limited, yet not negligible over a longer horizon.Sweden has long been a payments innovator, with widespread e-identification and mobile instant payments such as Swish.
There are signs, however, that the domestic market is lagging some European peers in areas such as broad instant account-to-account transfers.
A digital krona could expand instant-payment options and, under certain conditions, facilitate cross-border flows, helping maintain a dynamic and secure infrastructure that supports continued use of the krona.
Any Swedish framework could incorporate privacy safeguards similar to those proposed for the digital euro: the central bank would not identify parties to online payments, and offline retail transactions would remain anonymous, comparable to cash.
Should Sweden proceed, the Riksbank suggests leveraging the ECB’s planned digital euro infrastructure.
This approach would offer resilient, multi-region operations and offline capability, potentially lower cross-border costs, and align with Sweden’s existing use of ECB platforms such as TIPS and forthcoming T2 systems.Implementation would require substantial work.
The 2023 inquiry identified numerous laws that would need amendment, likely including a dedicated digital krona statute.
Technical preparation by the Riksbank and market participants—software development, system integration, supplier agreements, and public information campaigns—would take at least five years, on top of the time needed for legislative changes.
Given these lead times, the Riksbank argues that preparatory legislative work, beginning with a public inquiry, should start now, even if Sweden ultimately decides against issuance or further postpones any launch. The communication underscores that decisions rest with the Riksdag, while the central bank supplies updated information to enable timely deliberation.
