It is increasingly rare to see a festival without a cashless brazelet for payments. The safety and ease of use of these payment methods is undeniable, especially when there is such a large volume of customers and money involved.
RFID wristbands have appeared as an evolution of more traditional payment methods like plastic tokens because transactions are more secure and bookkeeping and billing management in such large events is greatly simplified.
However, the benefits of these cashless solutions don't have to be exclusive to music festivals. Clubs all around the world gather thousands of attendees weekend after weekend These events are massive and therefore require a large number of staff and technology to manage thousands of transactions. However, since guests spend an average of three hours inside a club, implementing a cashless system based on RFID wristbands is not an option in these environments.
What alternatives are there to manage bookkeeping and ensure security with such large volumes? The first and most traditional approach is to use paper tickets that can be purchased at a kiosk and then exchanged for drinks and food. However, long lines often occur at ticket desks which discourage guests from making purchases, bookkeeping must be done manually and data about how and how much attendees spend is not available unless they are inputted manually by bar staff.
A more modern solution is to use your phone as a payment method. Everyone has a smartphone with them all the time, unlike wristbands, which have to be issued to every attendee. Furthermore, health and safety measures during the pandemic have made guests accustomed to accessing menus digitally.
How do these systems work?
Attendees scan a QR code in any of the signs distributed throughout the venue, select their order and pay directly with their phone using Apple Pay, Google Pay or a credit or debit card. Since downloading an app is not required and the system is integrated with the native payment methods in the phone, transactions are very fast and efficient.
Once a customer has completed and paid for their order, they just have to approach one of the bars to pick up their order, where the staff will validate their purchase and give them their order, without needing to collect payment or enter order details in any other system. Hence, order preparation time and consequently, customer waiting times, are reduced significantly, in addition to eliminating possible cash-related problems at the end of the event by removing cash and POS from around the bards.
During the event, promoters and organizers have the posibility to check if any of the bars has overcome their capacity and send more staff to increase sales and customer satisfaction. And after the event is over, all data about sales and demand is available at their fingertips. Accounting reports are also ready and they have the reassurance that all payments were securely processed. Stock management and forecasting is simplified enormously since the system already has all data about demand and sales of very event at the venue.
Additionally promoters are able to nurture loyalty with their guests. By creating a digital membership, with each order the client earns points to spend on merchandising rewarding their recurrence, about which you can learn more in a previous post. Our approach has already shown great success at one of Europe’s largest and most renowned clubs, Fabrik, where we implemented a customized cashless system. By transitioning to this modern solution, Fabrik speed up payments and bar efficiency, gained better control over customer data, enhanced guest experience, and significantly streamlined their operations. You can [read more about this success story and how it transformed their business here](https://festeapay.com/es/case-studies/fabrik/).
Want to try it for yourself?
Just scan this QR code with your phone or use this link to check the order page of Fabrik, one of the largest and most breathtaking clubs in Spain.
