Are you going to use cash or card at the food and drink stalls?

[sabre-toothed tart]

Card / apple pay for me, with cash as a back up just in case.  Don't usually spend too much as I'm a lightweight when it comes to alcohol so it's mainly just food. I would be interested to see how much people spend on the other non food / drink stalls.  They must make enough to at least break even I guess 🤷‍♀️.  I normally do a postcard or two, and have bought a picture once and some cheap sunglasses when mine broke.  Do people spend loads on them?

[stuie]

Contactless will always be my first choice. 

To the extent that it will probably affect my decision on which food to buy or traders to visit. 

 

[CaledonianGonzo]

Gonna be a revelation not paying for every single pint with a tenner for speed and winding up with fifty quid in pound coins in my pockets by halfway through the fest.

[squirrelarmy]

For those wary of using their main bank accounts there are plenty of other card apps to use where you can transfer over a set amount of cash to a temporary card. Revolut is a great system that minimises risk of losing your main card. 
 

The festipay wristband system works great for a lot of festivals which stops the reliance on cash which does make it easier and safer to buy drinks and merchandise at festivals.
 

Glastonbury wouldn’t be able to go completely cashless though as there are too many independent stalls and sellers who prefer cash. 

[stuie]

2 minutes ago, sabre-toothed tart said:

Card / apple pay for me, with cash as a back up just in case.  Don't usually spend too much as I'm a lightweight when it comes to alcohol so it's mainly just food. I would be interested to see how much people spend on the other non food / drink stalls.  They must make enough to at least break even I guess 🤷‍♀️.  I normally do a postcard or two, and have bought a picture once and some cheap sunglasses when mine broke.  Do people spend loads on them?

Most festivals I'll buy a new outfit or top if I see something that catches my eye.  Sometimes some souvenirs or gifts if I see anything quality or unique.  

[Gnomicide]

I've always been a luddite and paid in cash on nights out but since covid I rarely take cash anywhere. Bus, bars, shops, I guess taxis but I've not taken one in years... It would be weird to go back to relying on cash now, might depend on now much a pint is, all that loose change jangling about. I've forgotten what that is like. 

[Slugy]

Contactless so I can't know how much I spent. Can't remember the last time I used cash for something that wasn't considered naughty by the law and even then that is mostly card now. 

[stuie]

2 minutes ago, squirrelarmy said:

For those wary of using their main bank accounts there are plenty of other card apps to use where you can transfer over a set amount of cash to a temporary card. Revolut is a great system that minimises risk of losing your main card. 
 

The festipay wristband system works great for a lot of festivals which stops the reliance on cash which does make it easier and safer to buy drinks and merchandise at festivals.
 

Glastonbury wouldn’t be able to go completely cashless though as there are too many independent stalls and sellers who prefer cash. 

 

Down with this sort of thing. 

I'm really against it.... to the point where I will not go to an event that uses it. 

Looking at you Boomtown.

[whitehorses]

Prefer to keep the cash economy alive for food and drink. Just use card if buy anything a bit bigger from a trader.

[squirrelarmy]

5 minutes ago, stuie said:

 

Down with this sort of thing. 

I'm really against it.... to the point where I will not go to an event that uses it. 

Looking at you Boomtown.

I’ve only used it at European festivals. It was far more convenient to transfer money from my bank to the festipay system instead of having to go through the hassle of withdrawing cash, exchanging it into the local currency and then using that to buy drinks and food and then ending up with a lot of random loose currency that can’t be spent when I got back home. 
 

These days I rarely use cash for anything. Even my local sandwich shop and barbers do everything via card. Other than a spare £20 I keep in my phone case for emergencies I don’t carry cash at all. 

[stuie]

Just now, squirrelarmy said:

I’ve only used it at European festivals. It was far more convenient to transfer money from my bank to the festipay system instead of having to go through the hassle of withdrawing cash, exchanging it into the local currency and then using that to buy drinks and food and then ending up with a lot of random loose currency that can’t be spent when I got back home. 
 

These days I rarely use cash for anything. Even my local sandwich shop and barbers do everything via card. Other than a spare £20 I keep in my phone case for emergencies I don’t carry cash at all. 

I've not been to any European festivals, but in recent years I've always just paid with contactless when I've been in Europe.  The exception to this was my trip to Berlin a couple of weeks ago, which is like some stuck in the past cash only city, particularly in restaurants and bars! 

 

[gigpusher]

Have always done cash in the past but if I get tickets this year would be a lot happier to spend on my card and have some back up cash for emergencies. 

[Smeble]

Card is more convenient but soooo dangerous, far more difficult to keep track of spending, although I guess just put a set amount on a pre paid card and when it’s gone, it’s gone.

as other have said, card with cash as a backup.

[MaxPower]

Card no question aye 

[balti-pie]

i quite like paying by card in order to look the next day at where i've been and what i've done - its quite enlightening at times. Ugh, why am i so generous when i've been drinking for six hours 🤣

[Hugh Jass II]

1 hour ago, drunk pumpkin said:

Cash for me just about everywhere I can.

I hate giving anyone details of what I choose to buy. 

I'm paranoid that all information is power to someone and someone will always use it for their gain 

This might be driven by the fact I spend far too much money on beer!

I feel sorry for whichever poor sod's job it is to go through my spending history.

Although they might reveal to Mrs J how much I spend on collecting old football shirts and computer games...

[Hugh Jass II]

1 hour ago, sabre-toothed tart said:

Card / apple pay for me, with cash as a back up just in case.  Don't usually spend too much as I'm a lightweight when it comes to alcohol so it's mainly just food. I would be interested to see how much people spend on the other non food / drink stalls.  They must make enough to at least break even I guess 🤷‍♀️.  I normally do a postcard or two, and have bought a picture once and some cheap sunglasses when mine broke.  Do people spend loads on them?

I don't usually but this year I do plan to visit the merch stall to pick up some t-shirts and other merch for the kids.

[dotdash79]

I often ask the traders what they prefer. The cost of handling cash can be more than the cost of taking cards. 
 

however sometimes traders like to have some cash on hand as it makes managing things a bit easier. 

[Leyrulion]

I find card makes it much easier to track what I'm spending then cash. No trying to count shrapnel, misplaced notes and it's really easy to track what you've spent and what you've got left. 

Also far far easier to split rounds amongst mates, you can split money instantly and not have to total it up at the end. 

Also if you lose it you can instantly freeze your card so don't lose any money. 

 

[gfa]

8 hours ago, ChimpyJ said:

I was recently chatting with a guy that runs a food truck that trade at Glastonbury, and the discussion of cash or card came up.  He says that back in 2019 total card sales amounted to about 15% of his total sales, and he expected it to be much more this year.

What are people going to do this year? 

With most places taking card is that the way it's going to go, or will you still use cash?

15% in 2019 seems insane. I've been doing festivals since 2017 and never even considered cash - its ancient! None of my group ever uses cash either except for well, you know 🙂

[philipsteak]

When I first started doing the admin/financial stuff at work, about 8 years ago, the bar was probably about 70% cash & 30% card. Maybe even 80/20. Just before covid that had switched to about 40/60 cash/card. Now cash is barely 15%. Often not even 10%.

[stuartbert two hats]

Loads of bars in Manchester are cashless these days FWIW. I suspect quite a few stalls will be too.

[ProperTea]

My friend works for a company who set up and run contactless payment systems at outdoor events. They are doing lots of festivals this year, most of which are using the infrastructure to go completely cashless. For the first time this year they have a contract with Glastonbury.

[stuie]

4 minutes ago, ProperTea said:

My friend works for a company who set up and run contactless payment systems at outdoor events. They are doing lots of festivals this year, most of which are using the infrastructure to go completely cashless. For the first time this year they have a contract with Glastonbury.

Do you know what other festivals are going completely cashless? 

I’m only aware of Boomtown and they are encountering a fair amount of resistance on socials. 

[gfa]

12 minutes ago, stuie said:

Do you know what other festivals are going completely cashless? 

I’m only aware of Boomtown and they are encountering a fair amount of resistance on socials. 

Reading was completely cashless last year i'm pretty sure. The resistance with boomtown is because its a band system vs just using your card i believe