As lockdowns have disappeared and events have gone back to normality after the pandemic, it's become clear that cashless systems have come to stay. Whether with tokens, with wristbands or with mobile payments, the ease and security of this type of methods is undeniable when you have to manage such a large volume of people and money.

RFID wristbands or mobile payments have become the latest trend in festivals during the summer of 2022. They represent an evolution of traditional plastic payment tokens because of increased security of transactions and ease of administration and accounting for such large events with hundreds of staff and thousands of attendees involved.

However, the perks of these cashless solutions don't have to be exclusive to music festivals. Free entry events like street food markets or brunches are gradually becoming more popular among metropolitan entertainment offerings and they also have to manage a large number of attendees, staff and payments.

These events don't normally required an entry ticket and therefore don't have an identification system in place, making the implementation of a wristband-based system much more challenging. It is almost always not feasible or cost-efficient to have staff dedicated to handing out wristbands to all foot traffic through the event.

But then, what alternatives are there to manage billing and increase security with such large sums of money? The first and most traditional option is to use plastic tokens, but the lines that form at token booths affect the experience of guests. Moreover, accounting is completely manual and data analytics about how and what your customers are buying are completely lost.

A better, more modern solution is the use of smartphones as payment methods. Everyone is always carrying one all the time, no identification is required and usage of phones to pay has very much increased, even if just to check out digital menus among other uses.

How do these systems work?

Attendees scan QR codes distributed throughout the event in signs and banners, select their order and pay directly with their phone using Apple Pay, Google Pay, Bizum, PayPal or credit or debit cards. Since it's not necessary to download yet another app and the system is deeply integrated with native payment methods, efficacy and aso of use are more than achieved.

Once they have made their order, customers just need to approach one of the bars to pick up their drinks, where bartenders will validate their order and serve drinks without having to collect payment or to input the order into a system , thereby massively cutting preparation and the time customers spend waiting.

Food stands also benefit from the system since attendees no longer have to stand waiting for their food in front of them. They can keep enjoying the event and receive a notification when their order is ready.

Once the event has passed, promoters have all accounting reports ready as well as high-resolution data about consumption patterns. They also can rest assured of the security of transactions by having all payments tracked down to the second they were made.

Want to try it for yourself?

Just scan this QR code with your phone or use these link to open a demo.

Want to see how the system works on a real event?

Check out one of the events which used FesteaPay last year!