https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Sweden in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed The payments company Klarna has launched a competitor to Swish, the Swedish peer-to-peer payments service, which will allow users to instantly transfer money from Sweden to friends and family in 13 different European countries. https://www.thelocal.se/20260114/klarna-launches-swish-rival-connecting-sweden-to-13-european-countries Wed, 14 Jan 2026 13:57:23 +0100 klarna-launches-swish-rival-connecting-sweden-to-13-european-countries The Local asked its readers last year to share their tips about which bank offers the best account for foreigners living in Sweden. Here's what they had to say. https://www.thelocal.se/20240131/readers-tips-how-to-find-the-best-bank-for-foreigners-in-sweden Wed, 31 Jan 2024 12:59:02 +0100 readers-tips-how-to-find-the-best-bank-for-foreigners-in-sweden Accompanying partners of Swedish work permit holders can often find it difficult to find work in Sweden, spending time out of the labour market with knock-on effects for their future finances. How should couples like this save for the future? https://www.thelocal.se/20250408/how-can-one-income-couples-in-sweden-save-for-both-partners-retirement Tue, 08 Apr 2025 09:28:37 +0200 how-can-one-income-couples-in-sweden-save-for-both-partners-retirement A Swedish court on Tuesday sentenced the former chief executive of Swedish bank Swedbank to 15 months in prison for deceiving investors about the bank's links to a money laundering scandal. https://www.thelocal.se/20240910/sweden-jails-former-banking-boss-over-swindling Tue, 10 Sep 2024 17:29:36 +0200 sweden-jails-former-banking-boss-over-swindling When Nico Meffe arrived at Lund to start his doctorate, he didn't expect to wait three months to get paid. The Local spoke to him about Swedish universities' reluctance to transfer funds to foreign accounts. https://www.thelocal.se/20240223/its-an-endemic-problem-why-phd-students-in-sweden-are-waiting-months-to-get-paid Fri, 23 Feb 2024 15:19:43 +0100 its-an-endemic-problem-why-phd-students-in-sweden-are-waiting-months-to-get-paid Sweden's government hopes to change the law so that Ukrainian refugees can finally register as resident in Sweden and so obtain personal numbers and access to the BankID digital identification system. https://www.thelocal.se/20240206/sweden-to-change-law-so-ukrainians-can-get-personal-numbers Tue, 06 Feb 2024 16:50:50 +0100 sweden-to-change-law-so-ukrainians-can-get-personal-numbers We’d like to hear your thoughts on the best banks for foreign residents in Sweden. https://www.thelocal.se/20240112/tell-us-which-bank-is-the-best-option-for-foreigners-in-sweden Fri, 12 Jan 2024 08:09:23 +0100 tell-us-which-bank-is-the-best-option-for-foreigners-in-sweden Swedish banks should find new ways of combatting money laundering to increase financial inclusion, argues Malin Alpen, executive director of payments at Sweden's Financial Supervisory Authority. https://www.thelocal.se/20231219/opinion-three-things-swedish-banks-could-do-to-stop-denying-foreigners-accounts Tue, 19 Dec 2023 09:00:31 +0100 opinion-three-things-swedish-banks-could-do-to-stop-denying-foreigners-accounts The number of people in Sweden who have had their bank accounts forcibly closed is up by a third, according to the country's financial watchdog, which says banks should not deny or close accounts without good reason. https://www.thelocal.se/20231218/swedens-financial-watchdog-calls-on-banks-to-stop-closing-so-many-accounts Mon, 18 Dec 2023 16:33:25 +0100 swedens-financial-watchdog-calls-on-banks-to-stop-closing-so-many-accounts A Swedish government inquiry into the payment system has called for the state to launch its own digital ID and a new type of basic, low-risk bank account to help the estimated 1m people with no, or limited, access to digital payments. https://www.thelocal.se/20230331/swedish-inquiry-calls-for-state-run-digital-id-and-low-risk-bank-accounts Fri, 31 Mar 2023 15:18:40 +0200 swedish-inquiry-calls-for-state-run-digital-id-and-low-risk-bank-accounts If you're expecting to be in Sweden long-term, you're going to want to set up a bank account, but as in many countries, this can be problematic if you've only just arrived. Here are the key things you need to know. https://www.thelocal.se/20190507/how-to-set-up-a-bank-account-in-sweden Tue, 07 May 2019 15:56:12 +0200 how-to-set-up-a-bank-account-in-sweden Several readers have got in touch with The Local after their bank implemented new terms and conditions which make it harder for non-Swedish citizens to get a new mobile BankID. https://www.thelocal.se/20220117/foreign-citizens-in-sweden-blocked-from-bankid-after-banks-roll-out-new-rules Mon, 17 Jan 2022 13:02:09 +0100 foreign-citizens-in-sweden-blocked-from-bankid-after-banks-roll-out-new-rules Some of Britain's biggest banks have begun contacting customers in European Union countries, warning them that their accounts will be closed down within weeks because the cost and complexity of operating without a continuation of pan-European banking rules is too much. https://www.thelocal.se/20200920/brits-in-eu-risk-losing-uk-bank-accounts-within-week Sun, 20 Sep 2020 16:19:03 +0200 brits-in-eu-risk-losing-uk-bank-accounts-within-week Swedish bank SEB has become the latest Nordic bank to be implicated in a massive money laundering scandal, following reports that its Baltic branches handled 45 million euros from companies linked to Russian money laundering. https://www.thelocal.se/20191127/swedish-bank-seb-international-money-laundering-scandal Wed, 27 Nov 2019 18:39:26 +0100 swedish-bank-seb-international-money-laundering-scandal Swedish banking giant Handelsbanken is closing down its Baltic operations, but denied the decisionhad anything to do with recent money laundering scandals tied to two other Scandinavian banks. https://www.thelocal.se/20190516/swedish-banking-giant-quits-the-baltics-says-its-not-worth-the-cost Thu, 16 May 2019 13:54:46 +0200 swedish-banking-giant-quits-the-baltics-says-its-not-worth-the-cost Sweden's financial crime unit said on Wednesday it had received a complaint against Scandinavia's biggest bank, Nordea, for alleged money laundering following on from a massive scandal engulfing Danske Bank. https://www.thelocal.se/20181018/swedish-bank-nordea-targeted-in-money-laundering-allegations-after-danske-bank-scandal Thu, 18 Oct 2018 09:25:11 +0200 swedish-bank-nordea-targeted-in-money-laundering-allegations-after-danske-bank-scandal For the first time, Swedes have overtaken Americans when it comes to the amount of cashless payments carried out, a new report shows. https://www.thelocal.se/20181016/sweden-leads-the-world-in-cashless-digital-payments Tue, 16 Oct 2018 09:47:04 +0200 sweden-leads-the-world-in-cashless-digital-payments More than 20 million Swedish kronor was stolen in one single month in a spate of bank scams this summer. https://www.thelocal.se/20180813/millions-of-kronor-stolen-in-spate-of-bankid-scams Mon, 13 Aug 2018 14:28:40 +0200 millions-of-kronor-stolen-in-spate-of-bankid-scams Swedish police warned residents on Monday to be aware of a new widespread telephone scam aimed at obtaining sensitive financial information. https://www.thelocal.se/20180514/beware-of-new-bank-scam-swedish-police-warn Mon, 14 May 2018 16:59:05 +0200 beware-of-new-bank-scam-swedish-police-warn The owners of Swedish banking giant Nordea have voted in favour of moving the company's head office from Stockholm to Helsinki. https://www.thelocal.se/20180315/nordea-owners-vote-to-move-headquarters-to-finland Thu, 15 Mar 2018 18:00:29 +0100 nordea-owners-vote-to-move-headquarters-to-finland