7 juni 2023
Why festivals are switching to cashless payments: six reasons
In recent years we have seen a noticeable shift from traditional payment methods such as coins and cash to cashless payments at major events and festivals. Cashless payments have numerous advantages over traditional festival tokens. Below we outline six of these benefits.
Bas Leunissen
Sales & Support Lead
1. Faster service
One of the biggest benefits of cashless payments is the drastic reduction in queues. With the traditional coin system, visitors often have to queue for a long time to buy their coins and then queue again to buy their drinks or food. Cashless payments speed up this process significantly because visitors no longer have to purchase coins. By executing transactions faster and more efficiently, attendees can spend more time enjoying the event itself.
2. Save on personnel
Cashless payments require fewer staff. With festival tokens, there must be employees to sell the coins, to arrange payments at the various stands and to skim and count coins during and after the event. With cashless payments, these processes can be automated, reducing the need for staff. This can result in significant cost savings for the organization of the event.
Furthermore, at a time when the labor market is becoming increasingly tight and good staff are becoming increasingly difficult to find, the move to cashless payments can also help alleviate this challenge and allow organizers to focus on creating an unforgettable experience for visitors.
3. Visitors spend more money
It is known that people tend to spend more money when they are not spending physical money. This is also the case with cashless payments at events. Attendees are more likely to make impulse purchases when they don't have to use physical coins, which can lead to higher overall revenue for the event.
4. Prevents fraud
Cashless payments are safer than payments with festival tokens. With coins there is always the risk of theft and counterfeiting. Cashless payment systems significantly reduce these risks. They offer advanced security measures, such as encrypted transactions and unique identification systems, to prevent fraud. Additionally, cashless systems can set spending limits, allowing both attendees and organizers to maintain control over spending
Cashless payments also eliminate human error in coin counting. The automated and digital process ensures accuracy and reliability. In short, cashless payment systems provide security, protection and accuracy, giving both attendees and organizers peace of mind during the event.
5. Eco-friendly payments
Producing, transporting and ultimately disposing of physical coins has a significant impact on the environment. Another concern is that coins, especially at major events and festivals, are often lost and released into nature, which can be harmful to animals and the environment. By switching to cashless payments, events can significantly reduce their carbon footprint and prevent coins from ending up in nature. This is an increasingly important aspect as both visitors and organizers become increasingly aware of the impact of events on the environment.
6. Improved insight
Finally, cashless payments offer organizers much more insight into visitor spending. They can see where and when visitors spend their money, which can help plan and optimize future events. With Tactile's cashless payment system you can also gain insight into groups of users and get answers to questions such as: is there more drinking at the beginning of the event than later? Then you can choose to have your next event start earlier.
7. (Bonus) Disadvantages of cashless payments
Despite the many benefits of cashless payments, there are also some potential drawbacks to consider. One of them is the dependence on technology. Should a power or network failure occur, this may lead to payment problems and disruption to the event. That is why we recommend choosing a payment system that is resistant to power and internet disruptions.
In addition, the increased data collection associated with cashless payments raises questions about privacy among some visitors, so it is important that a good processing agreement is concluded with the supplier and that the supplier has carefully considered the privacy of the visitor.
