Swedish News:

Just four months left in the great exchange. Paying for the bus with credit. 

• 

  The new banknotes have been criticized by many for depicting celebrities rather than people from Swedish history. The new 500-kronor note will feature the late opera singer Birgit Nilsson rather than King Karl XI.

• Just four months left in the great exchange
  As of March 1 there’s a push for Swedes to empty their banks and wallets of certain banknotes. It won’t be long before the 20 and 50 krona banknotes are outdated: They will be invalid at the end of June. In October 2015 the great exchange of notes and coins began circulating the new 20- 50- and 1,000 krona banknotes, released to the public from the Riksbank. New 100- and 500-krona banknotes, as well as new coins will be released in October of this year. Some coins will remain the same, some will get a new look. The coins and the old 100- and 500-krona banknotes will remain valid until the end of June 2017.

• 

  The old 500 SEK banknote with a portrait of Karl XI, King of Sweden between 1672 and1697. He founded Sveriges Riksbank (The Bank of Sweden, 'The Fed') in 1668. Sveriges Riksbank issues all banknotes and coins in Sweden.

• Paying for the bus with credit
  It will be possible to pay for a ride on the bus with a credit card, but it will cost extra, according to a March 1 announcement in southern Sweden. The new "board fee" will be introduced April 3. It will cost 32 crowns ($3.71) to ride the bus in Malmö, Lund and Helsingborg for those who pay by card — that’s 10 crowns more for adults; children’s tickets will cost five crowns more than the regular price when paid for with credit on board a bus. It costs nothing extra to buy tickets with credit in a vending machine or via the app. Of course purchasing tickets ahead of time greatly reduces queues and keeps busses on their timetables.