Banking and digital life in Sweden: BankID, Swish, Kivra, bills

Why digital ID runs everything in Sweden

Sweden is one of the most cashless countries in the world, and daily life runs on a handful of digital services. You log in to your bank, the Tax Agency, your health centre and your child's school with an electronic ID (e-legitimation). You pay friends back with Swish, get letters from the authorities in Kivra, and pay bills with a long reference number called an OCR-nummer.

For newcomers this creates a chicken-and-egg problem: almost everything needs BankID, and BankID needs a Swedish bank and a personal identity number. This guide explains the services, the order in which you usually get them, and the Swedish words you will meet on screens, invoices and letters. Requirements vary between banks and change over time, so check with your bank and the relevant authority before you go.

The usual order: from personnummer to BankID

Most people get set up in roughly this order:

1. Personnummer. You register in the population register (folkbokföring) at the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) and receive a personal identity number. Our personnummer tool explains how the number is built.
2. A Swedish ID card. Banks usually want a valid ID document. Swedish citizens use a passport or national ID card; people without Swedish citizenship who are registered in Sweden can get an ID card from Skatteverket today. That is changing: see SverigeID.
3. A bank account. You open an account (ett konto) at a bank.
4. BankID. Your bank issues it, usually as the BankID app on your phone.
5. Swish, Kivra and the rest. Once you have BankID, you can connect almost everything else.

Your right to a bank account

Banks are strict about identity checks because of anti-money-laundering rules, and many newcomers have been turned away. It helps to know your rights. Under the Payment Accounts Act (betalkontolagen), consumers who are lawfully resident in the EU/EEA have the right to a betalkonto med grundläggande funktioner (payment account with basic features) at banks that offer payment accounts. According to the Consumers' Banking and Finance Bureau, that includes:

• depositing money and withdrawing cash
• a debit card (bankkort) for payments in shops and online
• transfers and direct debits

A bank can refuse if opening the account would break the money-laundering rules, or for other special reasons such as previous misuse of an account. Importantly, not having a personnummer is not in itself a valid reason to refuse. The bank must decide within ten banking days of receiving a complete application, and a refusal must be given in writing, free of charge. The bank may charge a reasonable fee for the account. If you are refused, you can complain to the bank, then take the case to the National Board for Consumer Disputes (ARN).

BankID

BankID is the dominant e-legitimation in Sweden. You use it to log in and to sign: to your bank, to authorities such as Skatteverket and Försäkringskassan, to 1177 for healthcare, to Swish, and to sign rental contracts, loan agreements and job contracts.

You get BankID from your bank, not from an authority. As a rule you need a Swedish personnummer, to be a customer of a bank that issues BankID, and a valid ID document; the exact documents accepted and the age limit vary between banks. Most people use the app on their phone, where you confirm with a PIN code, fingerprint or face recognition.

Protect your BankID

BankID is as powerful as your signature. Fraudsters often call pretending to be from your bank, the police or a delivery company and ask you to "log in to confirm" something. Never open BankID because someone called, texted or emailed you. Only use it when you started the action yourself.

Freja and other e-IDs

Freja is the main alternative to BankID: a free app from a private company that does not require you to be a bank customer. It comes in more than one version. Skatteverket separates Freja, which people without a Swedish e-ID can use in some of its services, from Freja+, which only people with a Swedish personnummer or samordningsnummer at a verified identity level can get. You verify your identity in the app with a passport or ID card, or at one of the company's agents in shops. Fewer services accept Freja than BankID, but the list includes many authorities.

If you have an e-ID from another EU country that is approved under the EU eIDAS rules, some Swedish authorities accept it too.

SverigeID: the new state e-ID

Sweden is introducing a state e-legitimation called SverigeID. According to the Swedish Police (Polisen), it launches on 1 December 2026. It will be tied to the national ID card for Swedish citizens and to a new ID card without travel function for registered residents without Swedish citizenship, and it will be available from the year a child turns nine. The government has proposed that this new police-issued card replace Skatteverket's ID card for registered residents. The same law, proposed to apply from 1 December 2026, also requires public bodies that offer e-services to accept approved e-IDs at the security level they require, which should mean more places where alternatives to BankID work. Details are still being rolled out, so check polisen.se before you book.

Swish

Swish is the mobile payment system almost everyone uses: to pay friends back, buy things on second-hand sites, pay at market stalls and even give to collections in church. It links your mobile number to your bank account, and the money arrives instantly. The verb is swisha: Jag swishar dig (I'll Swish you).

To start, you sign up for Swish through your bank, download the Swish app, and confirm with Mobile BankID. Limits on how much you can send, and some details of the sign-up, vary between banks.

Swish payments are instant and hard to reverse. Scammers use Swish too, especially on second-hand sales, so never pay before you have seen the item unless you trust the seller.

Kivra and digital mail

Swedish authorities, banks, employers and many companies send letters digitally to a digital brevlåda (digital mailbox). The best known is Kivra, used by many people for payslips (lönespecifikation), tax documents, invoices and letters from authorities. Other approved mailboxes for mail from the authorities include Min myndighetspost (state-run, authorities only) and Billo. The shared system behind them is called Mina meddelanden.

You need an e-legitimation to open a digital mailbox, and according to the Swedish Transport Agency's guidance a samordningsnummer is not enough: you need a personnummer. Once you have a mailbox, letters from connected authorities stop arriving on paper, so check it regularly. If a letter confuses you, our guide to decoding official Swedish letters explains common phrases.

Mina sidor

Almost every authority, bank, insurer and utility has a logged-in area called Mina sidor (my pages). This is where you see decisions, apply for benefits, change your address, download certificates and send messages. You log in with BankID or another e-ID.

Paying bills: faktura, OCR and bankgiro

Most bills in Sweden come as a faktura (invoice). You pay it in your internet bank or banking app by entering the amount, the recipient's bankgiro or plusgiro number and an OCR-nummer. The bankgiro and plusgiro numbers identify the company's account; the OCR number is a reference that tells the company which customer and invoice the payment belongs to. Most banking apps let you scan the invoice to fill in the fields.

Typing the OCR number wrongly is a common reason why payments go astray, so double-check it. If an invoice has no OCR number, it usually asks you to write a message (meddelande), such as your customer or invoice number, instead.

Easier ways to pay

• E-faktura (e-invoice): the invoice arrives straight in your internet bank, ready to approve.
• Autogiro (direct debit): you give the company permission (ett medgivande) to take the money from your account on the due date. According to Bankgirot's standard consent terms, you can withdraw consent at any time by contacting the company or your bank; to stop future payments, the company must receive it at least five banking days before the due date, or your bank at least one banking day before.
• Stående överföring (standing order): a fixed transfer, such as rent, that you set up yourself.

Reading a Swedish invoice

If you pay late, the company may send a betalningspåminnelse (payment reminder). According to the Consumers' Banking and Finance Bureau, a reminder fee can only be charged if it was agreed, and it is capped at 60 kronor; a debt collection demand (inkassokrav) costs at most 180 kronor. Unpaid debts can end up with the Swedish Enforcement Authority (Kronofogden), which makes renting and borrowing much harder, so never ignore an inkassokrav. If you think a bill is wrong, dispute it (bestrida) in writing straight away.

Amounts and dates on invoices follow Swedish conventions: 1 234,50 kr uses a space for thousands and a comma for decimals. Our Swedish numbers tool helps you read and say amounts.

Everyday banking vocabulary

If you need to write to your bank or an authority in Swedish, our Swedish email templates give you a starting point, and the abbreviations list decodes shortenings like BG, PG and inkl. moms. For the wider picture of settling in, read our guide to learning Swedish when you move to Sweden.

FAQ

Can I open a Swedish bank account without a personnummer?

You may be able to. Consumers lawfully resident in the EU/EEA have a right to a basic payment account, and not having a personnummer is not in itself a valid reason to refuse. In practice banks' identity checks vary, so bring your passport and residence documents and ask for any refusal in writing.

How do I get BankID in Sweden?

You get BankID from your bank. You generally need a Swedish personnummer, to be a customer of a bank that issues BankID, and a valid ID document; exact requirements vary between banks.

Is there an alternative to BankID?

Yes. Freja is a free e-ID app that does not require a bank account, though fewer services accept it. From 1 December 2026, the state e-ID SverigeID is also being introduced through the Swedish Police.

What is an OCR number on a Swedish invoice?

It is a payment reference that tells the company which customer and invoice your payment belongs to. You enter it together with the company's bankgiro or plusgiro number when you pay.

Do I need Kivra?

It is not compulsory, but many authorities, employers and companies send letters and payslips digitally, and Kivra is the most widely used digital mailbox. Opening one requires a personnummer and an e-ID.

What is the difference between autogiro and e-faktura?

With autogiro, the company takes the money from your account automatically on the due date. With e-faktura, the invoice arrives in your internet bank and you approve each payment yourself.

Learn the Swedish behind the screens

Bank apps, invoices and letters get much less stressful once the words are familiar. Season 1 of our course Complete Swedish is free in full: video lessons with synced Swedish transcripts, from your first words to everyday situations. Start the free course and learn the Swedish you meet every day.

Sources

Last checked 7 October 2026.

• Konsumenternas Bank- och finansbyrå: Rätt till betalkonto med grundläggande funktioner (who has the right, what is included, refusals, personnummer, complaints) and Kostnader vid betalningskrav (reminder fee, inkassokrav, late-payment interest).
• Skatteverket: Om e-legitimation (Freja and Freja+, foreign eIDAS e-IDs).
• Polisen: Statlig e-legitimation – SverigeID (launch 1 December 2026, eligibility, ID card for registered residents).
• Government bill prop. 2025/26:250 En statlig e-legitimation (state e-ID, proposed entry into force 1 December 2026, and the requirement for public bodies to recognise approved e-IDs at the required trust level).
• Transportstyrelsen: Digital brevlåda (approved digital mailboxes; personnummer and e-ID required).
• Bankgirot: Autogiroanmälan, medgivande till bankgironummer (standard autogiro consent terms, withdrawing consent).
• Nordea: Swish – mobila överföringar, an example of a bank's Swish sign-up requirements.