Stockholm/Copenhagen | While Nordea’s Finnish ATM fleet struggles with fresh technical glitches, neighbouring Sweden is grappling with a parallel crisis that has left as many as three in ten Bankomat-branded deposit and withdrawal machines out of action since early July, Sveriges Riksbank confirmed Wednesday.
Bankomat, which took over nationwide cash-terminal operations from Loomis during the first half of 2025, has blamed “start-up problems” for the widespread closures and warns that disruptions “will persist for some time”. The central bank says it is in “ongoing dialogue” with the operator, and the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS) is monitoring compliance with legal availability requirements.
Businesses feel the pinch
Small retailers in Stockholm and Gothenburg told “Dagens Industri” that cash takings have been trapped in-store because nearby deposit machines have been dark for weeks. “We’re sitting on SEK 180 000 that should have gone to the bank last Friday,” said Sofia Lindgren, owner of a five-store bakery chain. ICA Bank and Forex have opened some of their own devices to the public, and Kontanten’s smaller network of a few hundred ATMs is being promoted as a stop-gap.
Denmark: no systemic ATM outages, but note overhaul looms
In Denmark, the central bank (Danmarks Nationalbank) reports no widespread ATM failures comparable to those in Sweden or Finland. Instead, Danish banks and retailers are preparing for a major banknote switch-over on 31 May 2025, when four legacy note denominations will cease to be legal tender and the DKK 1 000 bill is withdrawn entirely. While older notes can still be redeemed at branches, some pre-2009 series notes are already being rejected by ATMs due to outdated security features.
However today, Nordea informs DR Nyheder that challenges with their ATMs, where there were challenges for both deposit and withdrawals of money, have now been resolved. There’s no independent confirmation of any system-wide malfunction earlier today. It seems Nordea may have addressed a localized or internal issue without publicizing details.
Cross-border supply-chain lessons
Industry analysts say the simultaneous stresses in Finland and Sweden underline the vulnerability of Nordic cash logistics. “Both countries rely on a handful of private operators for cash handling,” notes Kjell Nilsen, senior adviser at Nokas Loomis. “When one link upgrades systems or suffers a cyber hit, the ripple effect is immediate.”
Riksbank governor Erik Thedéen used the release of Sweden’s Payments Report 2025 last week to urge banks and retailers to accelerate offline-card and cash-back up plans “in light of deteriorating regional security”. Denmark has already implemented an offline Dankort solution, and Norway is piloting similar technology.
What Nordic treasurers should do now
• Map alternative cash-in-transit routes and keep at least two ATM networks on speed-dial.
• For retailers with Danish kroner cash drawers, schedule note-sorting before 31 May to avoid stranded obsolete bills.
• Swedish firms: bookmark Bankomat’s live map (bankomat.se) and consider Kontanten or ICA Bank terminals for contingency deposits.
Nordea has yet to say whether its Swedish or Danish ATMs are affected by the same technical issues seen in Finland; the bank’s next system-status bulletin is expected at 08:00 CET Friday.