Why is it crucial to have multiple payment gateways at your events?
Nowadays, any technical failure at an event can turn into a nightmare for both the audience and the promoters. Today, we want to share our experience on why having a second payment provider as a backup plan is not just an option, but a necessity.
The risk of relying on a single provider
Imagine the following scenario: your event is packed with people, the bars are busy, and the attendees keep ordering. Suddenly, the payment gateway stops working, and you can no longer process payments. An absolute chaos ensues, threatening to ruin the event.
This is what almost happened at the In The Park event during the Black Friday weekend of 2023. The Redsys payment gateway collapsed for 24 hours, during which card readers, cash registers, and online purchases stopped functioning. Within a few minutes, we noticed that the number of orders was decreasing. This critical failure was severely impacting the attendees' experience.
Thanks to our active payment monitoring, we detected the problem in real time and in just 1 minute switched the gateway to Stripe, allowing attendees to continue making purchases without noticing what was happening.
Why have a plan B?
First of all, it guarantees that the user experience remains uninterrupted, allowing attendees to enjoy the event without being affected by payment process issues. Additionally, a quick switch to an alternative provider minimizes sales losses and significantly reduces incidents with affected attendees.
This system robustness gives you, as a promoter, the confidence of knowing you’re prepared for any unforeseen circumstance. With real-time data, you can anticipate problems and make swift decisions.
But, which payment gateway should I choose?
Stripe stands out for its robust API, ease of integration, and ability to support international cards. This makes it the ideal choice if you need a payment gateway as soon as possible—in just a matter of hours, you can be processing online payments. The downside is that its fees can be somewhat high, around €0.25 + 1.5% per processed payment.
On the other hand, Redsys is the most common payment gateway in Spain. It is integrated with most banking institutions, and its fees are much lower. Although you will need to negotiate these fees with your bank (typically between 0.40% and 0.60%), its integration process is not as straightforward and may take longer to set up. If you want to know more, read our post How to set up Redsys in your online store.
Our approach is clear: Redsys as the primary gateway due to its low costs and Stripe as the secondary option. In case the primary fails, you are ensured the ability to continue processing payments.
The peace of mind of always staying one step ahead
At FesteaPay, we specialize in ensuring that your event never stops. Our mobile payment platform eliminates long queues and offers a seamless user experience, while our system has been designed to be extremely flexible and resilient.
Thanks to our rapid setup, we can have your event up and running in less than two weeks, with all payment providers integrated and tested.
Furthermore, if the primary provider fails, our system allows for an instantaneous switch to the backup provider, just as we did during In The Park. Our administration panel offers you a real-time view of sales, inventory, and staff performance, enabling you to make informed decisions during the event and keep operations running optimally.
Don’t let a technical failure compromise your event
At FesteaPay, we handle the entire integration with Redsys and the configuration of your payment system so you can operate with complete peace of mind and focus solely on delivering an unforgettable event.
Contact us today, and in less than two weeks, you'll have everything set up to offer a fast, secure, and uninterrupted payment experience.