【Global Journey Blog vol.7】Taisei Mataguchi

[Global Journey Blog vol.7]

Hello, I am Taisei.

I can't believe that I have only 3 months left to live in Gothenburg, Sweden. Looking back, many things have happened, but time has flown by. A friend of mine who had studied abroad before told me that studying abroad is over in a moment, but I couldn't believe it at the time.
I will continue to study hard and enjoy the rest of my stay in Gothenburg.

Now, continuing from my previous blog, I would like to talk about useful information for living and traveling in Gothenburg.

1. Recommended SIM cards

2. Necessity of cash

1. recommended SIM card

Before I talk about SIM cards, there is one very important thing to remember: get a SIM-free device!
Please note that if you do not have a SIM-free device, you will not be able to use it even if you buy a new SIM card!

I recommend COMVIQ and Telenor SIM cards!
When I asked my international student friends, most of them used SIM cards from one of these two companies.
By the way, I use a SIM card from COMVIQ.

In addition to these two companies, another well-known company in Sweden is Telia. However, their prices are a little high.

Both COMVIQ and Telenor have almost the same prices, how to buy and charge the card, so I think you should just buy the one you find first.
Therefore, in this blog, I would like to explain the SIM card situation in Sweden, while talking about the COMVIQ SIM card that I use and am familiar with.

How to buy a SIM card
First, you must buy a SIM card. There are many ways to buy a SIM card, including online, but the easiest way is to buy one at a convenience store.
Just go to the cashier at the convenience store and ask for a SIM card!

(I will explain the fees later, but it is convenient to buy the amount of GB you want in addition to the card at this time.)

After buying the card, install the COMVIQ app at a cafe or somewhere with wi-fi and register your photo ID (passport)!
By doing so, you will be able to check the remaining amount of your data and be able to purchase GB in the app.

This SIM card is a prepaid SIM, so you need to charge GB to use it.

There are two plans: Fastpris with free local calls and SMS, and Fastpris Mini, which does not offer these two features.

Fastpris offers 5GB for 145 SEK and a maximum of 100GB, while Fastpris Mini offers 3GB for 95 SEK.
Data bought with both plans is valid for 30 days, so you need to recharge once a month at a convenience store or through the app! If you buy at a convenience store, please do not throw away the receipt as it contains a password for recharging.

Also, if you are in the EU/EES, you can continue to use your COMVIQ, Telenor, or Telia SIM card without doing anything, so it is very convenient!
EES stands for Entry Exsit System, a system designed to enhance security measures by automatically monitoring movement between Schengen countries.
(It is currently no longer available in the UK. and was not available when I visited there.)

(Convenience stores where you can buy SIM cards have the company name written on them, like the one shown in this photo, so be sure to look for them!)

My impressions of the actual use of it

I actually used COMVIQ's SIM card for about 7 months, and my impression is that it is very comfortable for the price.
The communication speed may slow down a little on rainy days and in the evening, but it is not bothersome and I can use my phone comfortably in other cases.
In Telia, where good communication is said to be more expensive, a 5GB plan with free domestic calls and SMS costs 269 SEK. (Telenor has the same conditions and costs 149 SEK.

I have never used a Telia SIM card, so I cannot compare the two, but I think it is worth trying COMVIQ and Telenor even if you are thinking of going with Telia, because you will get comfort for about half the price of Telia!

If you would like to know more about them,

COMVIQ：
https://www.comviq.se/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwzN-vBhAkEiwAYiO7oPY-Nny4e5fXv2YqgT6vIXgKF4rh5waA1wWS1jfBFrBhSwg6HIFD3xoCx3kQAvD_BwE

Telenor：
https://www.telenor.se/handla/kontantkort/hello-kontantkort/?language=en

Telia：
https://www.telia.se/mobilt/abonnemang?utm_source=GOOGLE&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=(G)+-+Search+-+B2C+-+Mobil+-+Abonnemang+-+Generic&utm_content=Surf+abonnemang&utm_term=surf+abonnemang&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwzN-vBhAkEiwAYiO7oGbkwWPU9FtSYOIqJ6s-NHeVLKd5G91UXxh9sNcmUvzg1arhWtd94BoC-_UQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

(A bird that I often see in Gothenburg that I found on a walk)

2. the necessity of cash

In Scandinavian countries, the cashless culture is so prevalent that it is difficult to find a store in Sweden that does not accept credit or debit cards.

In addition to credit cards, there is an app-based payment service called Swish. This service is very popular in Sweden, and it allows instant money transfers by linking a bank ID issued by a bank to a phone number.

I was surprised at first to see a street performer writing his ID on the place where money is supposed to be put, and having the audience transfer the tip directly to his bank account.
There were also many stores that did not allow cash payments, which was a very strong shock to me since I had never used a card before coming to this country to study abroad.

Sweden is such a cashless country that you don't need to carry cash, but I think you should definitely carry at least SEK 350 with you!

The reason why I think so is because I think you should have some cash as a backup in case you can't use your card, and also to remember what it feels like to spend money.

One day when I got to the supermarket to do some shopping, I realized that I had left my wallet at home. However, I did not stop shopping, thinking that I would be fine because I had a credit card registered in my phone that I always use. Then, when I held my phone up to the machine to pay, a glitch prevented me from paying and a very long line formed behind me. I ended up spending an hour round trip to get my wallet.

I think it is very important to have cash on hand in case of emergencies, because sometimes credit cards and other forms of payment do not respond, as in my experience. Also, if you live your life without seeing any cash, you will lose the appreciation of money and the sense of being paid, so I think cash is necessary to keep this in mind.

In closing

Thank you for reading to the end!

In this article, I talked about my recommended SIM card and the cash situation in Sweden.
I hope the information in this blog will be of some help to those who are traveling or studying in Sweden.

See you again in my next blog.