UK: PlayPass has confirmed Standon Calling as the latest UK festival to implement its RFID cashless payments system this summer.
Standon Calling, a leading UK independent festival, was the first British festival to go fully cashless, and has led the way in the successful application of this technology ever since.
Visitors to the 13,000 capacity event, held on the grounds of a 16th Century Hertfordshire manor house, will – as of this year – be able to top-up funds before they arrive onsite, and also incentivising audience to register for ‘Auto Top-Up’. This signature feature of the PlayPass system automatically tops up a pre-set amount on to the customer’s balance to without the need to top-up manually.
Everyone at the festival, including ticket-holders, artists and crew, will have a wristband fitted with an ultra-secure RFID chip, which they can use as their method of payment at every bar and trading outlet. The event will be fully cash-free.
Another new feature will allow all customers to receive a refund of any unspent credits online after the festival. Alternatively, they can choose to donate it to Standon Calling’s 2016 national charity partner, Warchild.
Standon Calling will take place from July 29 – 31, with a new ‘Welcome Feast’ offering early arrivals culinary delights on July 28. Suede, Jess Glynne and Kelis top its eclectic bill, which also boasts Everything Everything, The Hives, Ghostpoet, Anna Calvi, Blossoms and many more.
Alex Trenchard, Standon Calling’s Festival Director, said: “The past three years have taught us a great deal about working with cashless payments in order to give our visitors a better experience and help us manage the event. This year we wanted to take it to the next level, allowing people top-up beforehand and reclaim their refunds afterwards online, reducing queuing onsite and eliminate all need for cash management. We look forward to working with Playpass on this next chapter of Standon Calling.”
Steve Jenner, in charge of UK Business Development at PlayPass, said: “Anyone that has followed the advancement of cashless and RFID in festivals will know that Standon Calling is the UK market’s pioneer – the leader in this field. That they have chosen to use our system this year is obviously a huge source of pride for us and we look forward to working with them to not only take cashless payments to new heights at Standon Calling, but to also advance our pledge to make this technology a standard in the UK festival industry this year, bringing us in line with many other parts of Europe.”
