As festival goers gear-up for the start of the 2017 festival season, more emphasis should be placed on the benefits of going cashless as the event fundamental for organisers, vendors and partygoers.
This is according to Shai Evians, CEO of Howler, an event-technology platform that consolidates event planning, management and financial control; the cashless way to pay is a growing phenomenon around the world.
The cashless option, Howler Loaded, uses near-field communication (NFC) cards or wristbands to transact during an event and is considered an essential means to safeguard organisers, vendors and party goers’ cash during a festival.
Evians says the process for going cashless is simple: party goers are urged to create an account online and simply load the budgeted amount to the profile, and there’s no minimum or maximum cash limit.
Loading-up can be conducted ahead of an event, or at stations strategically situated at the festival. Partygoers are issued with a card or wristband at the event, which allows them to make purchases during an event.
At the end of an event, any unspent funds can be easily claimed online, and Evians says there’s now “jumping through hoops” to get money back. With Howler Loaded’s Auto-Cash-out feature, customers’ funds are automatically refunded.
“A cashless event is the best option for organisers, vendors as well as party goers and is a global best practice. There’s never an exchange of cash. It’s fast, simple, efficient and above all, it’s safe,” he says.
Howler Loaded offer full financial control for vendors and organisers alike. It also profiles the customer journey during an event, which looks at what customers buy, when they buy it, as well as other spending habits.
“These analytics are used to optimise and improve the next event, and means the next one will be better,” he says.
Since Howler Loaded isn’t dependent on a cellular phone network, Evians says there’s no down time, “no matter where the event is”.
“Networks are unreliable at the best of times. Going cashless means much less time in queues and quicker transactions, which also means more transactions, and that translates to increased revenue for vendors.”
Evians says in less than 12 months, Howler has implemented more than100 cashless events and the expects to grow this figure “exponentially”.
“This is testament to where the market is heading. In an evolving world, cashless is the way to pay. It’s seamless and safe and helps to create moments that matter,” he says.