Sweden's major money changeover, which began in 2015 and has grabbed headlines around the world, has entered its final phase, meaning that old 1-, 2- and 5-kronor coins, as well as 100-kronor and 500-kronor bank notes, will become invalid after June 30th.
But according to the Riksbank's latest estimate, 9.2 billion kronor's worth of old notes and 1.9 billion kronor coins are still hiding in Swedes' wallets, piggy banks and mattresses.
IN PICTURES: Sweden's new bank notes
One of the challenges for anyone hoping to get rid of the old notes is that increasingly fewer Swedish banks handle cash these days, meaning it is not always possible to go to the nearest branch and submit the bills.
"The banks have now increased the number of branches that accept coins and several banks have stopped charging a fee. Consult your bank if you have a lot of banknotes and coins. Shops may find it difficult to manage large volumes of banknotes and coins all at once," said Christina Wejshammar, head of the Riksbank's cash and payment systems department.
"It is also important that banks and cash-in-transit companies can supply shops with new coins and that shops stop giving customers the old, soon-to-be-invalid coins as change."
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