Lollapalooza has announced “Lolla Cashless” a payment option for goods within the festival that utilizes the festival attendee’s wrist bands so that cash can be left at home. The technology will “use radio frequency identification (or RFID)-enabled wristbands for payments,” which allows patrons to link a credit card with their wristband and simply scan their band for payment.
Many news sites are claiming that Lollapalooza is the first major festival to adopt the cashless system, although Mysteryland USA (New York) and Counterpoint Music Festival (Atlanta) offered RFID cashless payment earlier in the year. The system was met with challenges at Mysteryland, it even shut down for two hours leaving participants financially stranded. It is also worth noting that from a banking perspective, the system encourages festival attendees to feel that they have an unlimited budget and spend more money than they normally would when holding paper tender.
Cashless payment has it’s pros and cons, and we want to know, will you be participating when wristband payments hit your favorite festival?
Source: Billboard