Sweden - totally cashless?

I am sure others will have more recent experience than my 5 days in Stockholm in 2018. My husband felt so much better with the equivalent of $20 cash in his pocket and $20 in mine. We finally spent half of it in Copenhagen (yes, I know…..) but I still have the other $20 in my currency drawer. We spent not a bit of cash in Stockholm. (And the only cash we spent in Copenhagen was the $20 worth of Swedish cash.)

I was in Stockholm 10 days ago. I didn't have any kroner in my pocket. I didn't have any kroner in my pocket on my previous trip in 2018. I did just fine.

Sweden is not totally cashless and in most places you can still pay in cash. Most people either pay with card or with their phone. On this trip I mostly used Google Pay. If someplace didn't take Google Pay I used my contactless credit card.

Visa and Mastercard are accepted everywhere. Not so much with American Express.

I visited Värmdö last weekend, is that enough to qualify me as a recent traveler?

If so, no Sweden is not cashless. You can do quite a lot of shopping without using cash, especially if you stay in the major towns and cities. But you can also use cash if you prefer it that way. Some places don't accept cash, but most do. Visa and Mastercard are the safest options, they are accepted almost everywhere. There are some places that will accept American express, but they are few. Apple pay and similar are also becoming more used, although you can't rely on them.

Cash has made a small come back recently among flea markets and small street vendors. Many of them have abandoned card options in favour of app payment via Swish, or cash.