The Benefit of Cashless Payments For Festivals

‍Over the last few years we have seen wristband payments (cashless payments) grow in popularity, becoming the most popular form of payment at festivals in 2022*.  

For reference, in 2019 cashless made up 37% of a festival's total transactions*, in 2022 that percentage rose to 50%.

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As interest in wristband payments (cashless) has grown, so have the number of questions like what are the benefits of cashless? Does it improve the fan experience? Do cashless fans spend more? In this post we answer these frequently asked questions.

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Do fans that use wristbands as their form of payment spend more than fans paying with a credit card?

Yes. Fans who pay with wristbands vs those using credit cards have a +18% higher average dollar per head per day at festivals. With the average spend per transaction not differing noticeably, it is the average number of transactions that are higher with 3.4 transactions on average for wristband fans over 3.0 for credit card holders.

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Why does cashless make more money than other payment types?

While there is not one, specific reason, we can provide insights into contributing factors:

Better Fan Experience

Fans have one less thing to keep track of while at a festival with both their ticket and payment method on their wrist.

Lines Move Faster

On average, cashless fans complete their purchases 10-20 seconds faster than other forms of payment. Even if there are only 20 people in front of you in line, that’s 7 minutes that could be spent drinking, eating, watching a performance, or buying something else.

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How do festival promoters and organizers most effectively maximize their revenue and fan experience with having wristband payments as an option?

For festival promoters and organizers to effectively maximize their revenue is to ensure fans activate their wristbands prior to arriving at the festival. You can only reap the benefits of cashless if it is used.

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What if my festival is in a remote area or we have poor WiFi conditions?

atVenu Register can take all payments, including cashless 100% offline. Knowing that connectivity at festivals can be spotty at best, our point of sale will engage Offline Mode as needed so you can keep selling no matter the environment.

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For more insights on festival merchandise and food and beverage click here to see our full 2022 year in review: the festival edition.

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*this percentage is based on festivals who had RFID wristbands as a form of payment and the percentage of transactions that were RFID wristbands