The leadership of the Riksbank is calling on Sweden's major banks to rapidly develop more services for instant payments and reduce reliance on international card systems such as Visa and Mastercard.

In an op-ed published in Dagens Nyheter, Governor Erik Thedéen and the rest of the Executive Board warn that the Swedish payment market is vulnerable, as over 90 percent of in-store purchases are made by card, typically via American providers.

They want to see more real-time payments via online and mobile banking, including transactions between businesses and between accounts in different banks.

"The Riksbank now wants Sweden's major banks to continue leading the way in the payment market by developing and enabling attractive payment services. To reduce global dependence on non-European services, these should also be built on national and European systems," writes the group, emphasizing that Swedes should have access to more services than just Swish.

If the banks do not present new services or a clear plan within a year, by March 2027, the Riksbank believes that legislation should be introduced.

"The Riksbank therefore expects banks to start offering more services for instant payments or communicate a plan to do so in the near future. If they have not done this within a year (before March 2027), the Riksbank believes that legislation, in line with that applicable to the euro, should be introduced," the group writes.

The Riksbank also urges Getswish, the owner of Swish, to reconsider its decision to remain outside European collaborations for international mobile payments.

Furthermore, the board believes it should be possible to use Swish even in an offline environment. As of July 1, it will be possible in Sweden to pay by card even when offline.