Contactless payments a hit at summer festivals – 7 mil. transactions in 22 events

The number of contactless transactions at festivals this year increased one third compared to last year, according to data recently published by Festipay Zrt.: while last year’s figure was 5.5 million, this year festival-goers paid via cashless solutions 7 million times. More than 3 million contactless transactions were executed at the largest music festival in the region, Sziget. There has been a considerable increase of 50%, also in the number of cashless festivals; this year, Festipay’s payment solutions were used at a total of 22 events.

Compared to 2015, there has been a significant increase in the number of festivals where Festipay Zrt provided the cashless payment solution. The Hungarian company entered the Romanian market in 2015, as the service provider for the Untold Festival, selected “The Best Major Festival” in Europe. This year, besides the Untold, four other Romanian and two French events chose for the services of Festipay.

“This year we tripled the number of foreign festivals that used the Festipay card; indeed, in 2016, seven foreign events opted for our services. The number of festivals choosing cashless payment solutions increased significantly in Hungary, as well: this year, festival-goers at fifteen festivals enjoyed the benefits of contactless transactions” – László Márki, CEO of Festipay Zrt. declared.

According to data of Festipay Zrt., the increase was spectacular both in the number of bankcard transactions and of purchases made with Festipay card at the most popular Hungarian festivals.

In 2016, the number of contactless transactions reached 7 million, representing a roughly 30 percent increase compared to last year’s 5.5 million. The number of payments via festival cards in 2015 at one of the largest music festivals in Europe, Sziget, was 2.23 million; this year, this number reached roughly 3 million (2.8 million). The number of purchases made via festival cards at the Balaton Sound organized in Zamárdi grew from last year’s 600 thousand to 670 thousand this year. At the TELEKOM VOLT Festival in Sopron, 400 thousand card payments were made last year, while this year this number decreased slightly to 370 thousand.

A significant rise is noticed in the number of bankcard transactions, reaching 170 thousand at the Sziget in 2015 and almost twice of that, 300 thousand, in 2016. The largest festivals in the region, Balaton Sound and TELEKOM VOLT are not behind these growth figures, either. Balaton Sound registered a rough doubling of bankcard transactions: the number of payments last year exceeded 40 thousand, while in 2016, 77 thousand such transactions were reported. The number of transactions via contactless bankcard at the TELEKOM VOLT Festival in Sopron was 65 thousand last year, and 94 thousand this year.

A novelty: the Festipay Prepaid card

The spread of contactless card usage and the change in payment habits have certainly been influenced by the Festipay Prepaid MasterCard that made its debut at this year’s Sziget; this card is the first prepaid card in Hungary that can actually be loaded with cash 24 hours a day. One of the greatest benefits of the prepaid card is that the owner can easily control their spending as only the exact amount deposited by the owner can be spent using the card. The first edition, unique festival imagery prepaid card could be used for payments at Sziget Festival, but it simplified and made payments more secure for users even outside the festivals, every day, as you can pay with it at all merchant that accept MasterCard in the world.

“Payments habits are undergoing change; in our experience, while more and more festival-goers chose for the contactless bankcard, we also noticed that many people are nervous of using a debit or credit card associated with their own bank account in a festival environment. So, for the first time, this year we offered an open loop solution that allows payment that is both secure and simple at the festival, as well as in other places” – László Márki added.

Source: FestiPay