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Contactless payments


Wurzelcat
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Going to give this a bump to see if the situation has changed. I didn't make it this year so I don't know if contactless has become a Glasto thing or not yet.

There's definitely been a huge cultural shift away from paper money in recent years especially for festivals. I managed 7 days at Sziget without any physical currency because of their excellent wristband system. It feels so much safer not having to carry a lot of cash around, if they managed to get the system working for 500,000 people on an island over the 7 days I'm sure Glasto can manage it for half that number.

I know there will always be a need for cash at Glasto especially for the smaller stalls and other purchases but a system which means you don't need cash for all the bars, food and merch outlets would be a lot easier. 

 

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Contactless was available at most stalls this year. Probably over 95%.

I tried to use contactless where possible across all (7) festivals I went to this year to reduce the amount of cash I was carrying - at Glastonbury it was fine, as the 4G coverage is fairly decent. At other smaller festivals where the networks don't add extra masts etc it ranged from inconsistent to a waste of time.

Making a comparison by saying Sziget has 500,000 people is very misleading. That figure is the cumulative figure across all days - so you're 7 of those 500,000 people.

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10 hours ago, incident said:

Making a comparison by saying Sziget has 500,000 people is very misleading. That figure is the cumulative figure across all days - so you're 7 of those 500,000 people.

The vast majority of Sziget goers just go for a day or two. I think the official number for this year was 530,000 unique visitors I’m going to try and find the official figure. 
 

But thats good news for Glasto if I don’t have to worry about bringing as much cash as normal and just using card instead. I don’t think an electronic wristband system is needed as long as your card works. 

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On 2/25/2019 at 3:26 PM, jfaragher said:

Also, even fewer people use the ones at the top of Big Ground.  If you're worried, just wander down at around 1200 on Wednesday, and go straight from those cashpoints to the lockups with the cash you need.

I’m sorry but if you’re gonna do that then you might as well just enter the farm with the cash in the first place. 

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7 hours ago, crazyfool1 said:

Lockups ... one of the great things that Glastonbury does for us .... carry minimal cash and a card .... keep a spare card and some cash in them .... worry free festival ..... dont forget to donate during or after the festival 

Free bog roll too last time I went. None of my non-Glasto friends believe me when I tell them how good a system it is. 

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10 hours ago, crazyfool1 said:

Lockups ... one of the great things that Glastonbury does for us .... carry minimal cash and a card .... keep a spare card and some cash in them .... worry free festival ..... dont forget to donate during or after the festival 

I was wondering about this actually, I've only got the one debit card and I can't really justify setting up a second card just for Glastonbury, do you reckon I'd be as well keeping my debit card in lock up and just topping up on cash as and when I need throughout? 

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5 minutes ago, Sargey Babes said:

I was wondering about this actually, I've only got the one debit card and I can't really justify setting up a second card just for Glastonbury, do you reckon I'd be as well keeping my debit card in lock up and just topping up on cash as and when I need throughout? 

yes ... in a word ... never seem to be more than a couple of people waiting ... 

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1 hour ago, Sargey Babes said:

I was wondering about this actually, I've only got the one debit card and I can't really justify setting up a second card just for Glastonbury

I reckon that it makes sense for everyone to have a second "just in case" account, even if it's only used once in a blue moon.

Can use an app based bank like Starling or Monzo and set up an account in about 5 minutes without leaving your house, drip feed money in as needed, and have it available for whenever.

I don't use my Starling card much other than for festivals (so I don't have to take my main card) and for foreign currency stuff (much better exchange rate), but was very happy to drop some money in the account for ticket day just in case disaster hit and my main card got declined. Worth it for that safety net alone.

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14 hours ago, Sargey Babes said:

I was wondering about this actually, I've only got the one debit card and I can't really justify setting up a second card just for Glastonbury, do you reckon I'd be as well keeping my debit card in lock up and just topping up on cash as and when I need throughout? 

A great card for doing this is Revolut. 
 

I got mine for international spending but works fine in this country. The card is app controlled so you can activate it and deactivate it at will. Transferring money back and forwards is fairly instant and you can easily send money to friends as well. 
 

It even can be used with Apple pay so you don’t even need a physical card as long as you have your phone. 

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On 10/12/2019 at 3:38 PM, lukethekid said:

I’m sorry but if you’re gonna do that then you might as well just enter the farm with the cash in the first place. 

Fair comment, apart from this way you don't have to carry the cash on site - it's a small risk, but non-zero that you'd lose the whole weekends cash in the queue / whilst you were finding a camping spot etc etc.

Also (and this sounds really smug) - I'm often on site from the Saturday before the festival, and I can forget that on Wednesday people are at the start of their Glastonbury, not half way through...

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 10/11/2019 at 10:48 PM, ManchesterGlasto said:

I split my cash into envelopes for each day and then pop them in the lock ups in a bag. Take one out each day. Much easier as when wasted I’d be trigger happy with the old contactless. 

Always used to do this, but chanced it this year and took minimal cash (left a credit card in the lockups for emergencies) and I was absolutely fine. As said above, 95%+ of bars etc. took contactless..... and I only used cash on tat that I probably shouldn't have bought in the first place!

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I’d personally only take cash with card for back up, leave cash in envelopes for each day in lock up (along with some tinnier) & pick it up each morning before heading out for the day.

Never had to use my card to get money out before, I usually take £200 not including train fare & I’m a fair drinker & not had an issue. I might reconsider for next year as prices go up.

Also I wear one of those slim travel fanny packs to keep my camera, money, ID & bank card in another separate slot for the day. I’ve lost cameras out of my back pocket before, I don’t need a full wallet & phone stays in front pocket of trousers so I can feel it vibrate unless I go into a rowdy crowd.

Edit: fanny packs/bum bags are fashionable now, I got a trendy & sturdy Eastpak one of eBay & the missus has stolen it, hence using the travel pack. Never lost anything including cash out of one.

Edited by Bisque
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  • 2 weeks later...

I have a phone case with card slot and a handy loop for clipping the phone to a lanyard. Having my phone and card physically attached to me at my last festival was amazing. It’s an uninsured iPhone X. I’m planning on doing the same next year so if I don’t need to take much cash I’ll be very happy. 

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