The national campaign reminding Swedes to use or exchange these notes before July 1 was widespread, but Central Bank (Riksbanken) reported that about two billion kronor in these denominations were still in circulation as the Thursday night deadline drew near. As the country moves in the direction of becoming a cashless society, increasingly fewer Swedish banks handle cash anymore, making it difficult to find a bank branch at which to submit the bills for exchange or deposit into a personal account. If someone isn’t able to spend their notes before July 1, they can still deposit them to their bank account until August 31.
Sweden is due to get more new notes in October, including a 100 kronor note adorned by Greta Garbo, and a 500 kronor note carrying the image of Swedish soprano Birgit Nilsson. The one krona, two kronor and five kronor coins will also change appearance in the autumn, though the old versions will still be usable until June 30, 2017.