The flows of cash

The Riksbank distributes cash to banks, bank-owned companies and cash-in-transit (CIT) companies via our three cash handling offices in Märsta north of Stockholm, Jönköping and Umeå. A backup office was also opened in Falun in 2023. If the Märsta office cannot be used for some reason, the Falun office, as well as the other two offices in Jönköping and Umeå, can be used instead of distributing banknotes.

Acting together, the five largest banks have formed Bankomat AB to provide cash to society. When cash is needed in society, Bankomat or the CIT-company Loomis AB collects it from the Riksbank. With the help of CIT companies, cash is distributed from Bankomat out into society. Bankomat currently (March 2025) has four cash depots in operation. Via ATMs, bank accounts and retailers, the public then have access to cash.

When the cash is worn out, it is returned to the Riksbank via Bankomat and Loomis for destruction. 

The Riksbank formed the Cash Management Advisory Board in 2006. The Cash Management Advisory Board has been a forum for discussing issues to do with cash management in society. At the end of 2024, the Board became instead a sub-committee of the Payments Council, as the issues addressed in the Cash Management Advisory Board are often linked to both the payments market as a whole and what is discussed within the Payments Council.

The flow of cash in society begins and ends with the Riksbank