Ten thousand festival goers at the Isle of Wight Festival were able to make cashless transactions for food and drink throughout the muddy site, for the first time, thanks to RFID wristbands.
The wristbands provided by ID&C were also used to gain entry into the festival.
“The transactions are faster than paying by cash or traditional chip and pin,” said Andy Gratton, one of the Isle of Wight Festival’s food traders.
“People now have their ticket entry, festival ID and their wallet all in their wristband, it’s really convenient and I can see it becoming more and more popular,” he added.
Prior to the festival, general ticket holders were given the chance to upgrade their standard wristband to an RFID one, which when activated, was linked to their debit or credit card.
A number of top-up points were dotted around the site and some vendors accepting the cashless payments were able to tell punters how much credit they had left on their wristband.
Visitors using the wristbands could spend up to £20 in a single transaction and after the festival, any unused credit would be automatically refunded to their card.
ID&C’s Operations Director Steve Daly said: “Last year the wristbands were trialled successfully among a limited number of VIPs. This year, it’s been great to see the technology rolled-out to a wider festival audience.“
ID&C, MasterCard UK, Vodne, Central Catering and technology company IVS partnered with organisers of the Isle of Wight Festival to offer the new RFID wristbands to its fans.
Daly added: “There are a number of festivals throughout the UK, Europe and United States adopting the technology, and they’re all using entry wristbands as the intermediary. It’s a convenient way for fans to reap the benefits of the technology and enhance their festival experience.”
Since 2011, ID&C has worked with festivals across the world and has to date supplied over 1m RFID wristbands including the first ever fabric wristband to Glastonbury in June 1999.
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