Contactless payments

[Wurzelcat]

Haven't been to the festival since 2011 so wondering how widespread and reliable contactless payments are now? Can I just buy a pint without cash these days? Hoping I can get away with bringing less cash this year, although I'm stewarding with Oxfam so at least staying in a comparatively secure campsite

[balti-pie]

Based on 2017, I don’t recall anywhere doing contactless - there’s been a big old seachange in shops/pubs since then, but they’re not in the middle of a dairy farm ???  so I know this is a crap answer, but we’ll have to wait and see . . . 

[StoneCircle]

12 hours ago, Wurzelcat said:

Haven't been to the festival since 2011 so wondering how widespread and reliable contactless payments are now? Can I just buy a pint without cash these days? Hoping I can get away with bringing less cash this year, although I'm stewarding with Oxfam so at least staying in a comparatively secure campsite

I have only ever used cash at the bars. However, there are cash points available, some make a charge for withdrawals but I do recall some free ones near Worthy Farm. I am sure someone will be able to clarify if this is still the case.

Best bet is to use the lock ups and leave all of your valuables/cash/keys there, pop in daily to get more cash if needed. 

Edited February 22, 2019 by StoneCircle

[glasto-worker]

20 hours ago, Wurzelcat said:

Haven't been to the festival since 2011 so wondering how widespread and reliable contactless payments are now? Can I just buy a pint without cash these days? Hoping I can get away with bringing less cash this year, although I'm stewarding with Oxfam so at least staying in a comparatively secure campsite

Well you never know but I would expect that most bars will still be taking cash ' unless there is a giant leap forward in the technology ' - I was at the Stones concert at London Stadium { near Stratford } last year and even there they had problems ' and they had decided they would not take cash in any Bar { mainly to cut down on bar staff theft } ' - How many Bars that had problems I don't have a clue but I know the bar near where I was sitting # were sending people away # for at least part of the time - I am amazed there was not a riot.

Enjoy your time with Oxfam I worked with them last year and found them to be well Organised.

[ian the worm]

Cash is king in a field. Reliable, QUICK, WiFi is needed for cards and no one knows what the demands are for a temporary event. 

[Wurzelcat]

Thanks everyone will stick with cash for now. I remember cash point queues being horrendous so I used to keep extra at a lock up and keep about £40 on me and topped up from the lock up when necessary.  I wonder are there specific lockers or lock ups in the Oxfam camping? No probs if not, the regular lock ups always worked well in the past 

[incident]

Nothing like that in the Oxfam camping.

You can use the public lock-ups, there'll be one on your way into the festival (just off Muddy Lane), but as far as I'm aware they won't open until the Wednesday.

If you're driving, can always leave stuff (well hidden and not in public view) in the car - you'll be parked relatively close by.

[Old_Johno]

All the traders at Boomtown took card payment last year, at least all the ones I visited. It’s obviously smaller, but similar in that it’s held on a farm in the middle of nowhere, they get a temporary internet set up for the festival duration that the traders use which is a lot easier than it used to be.

If set up Properly contactless is way quicker than messing around with cash and change etc.

[glasto-worker]

44 minutes ago, Old_Johno said:

All the traders at Boomtown took card payment last year, at least all the ones I visited. It’s obviously smaller, but similar in that it’s held on a farm in the middle of nowhere, they get a temporary internet set up for the festival duration that the traders use which is a lot easier than it used to be.

If set up Properly contactless is way quicker than messing around with cash and change etc.

its more complex than you would imagine and trust me ' it has been tested '

Smaller festivals will tend to link up with one merchant's service provider and every trader has to agree to use their system.

If they cant get it working at London Stadium { Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park } then there is some way to go before it can cover the area that Glastonbury uses.

[jfaragher]

I used contactless in a few bars last time I'm sure - definitely in the Tow and Hitch, as they were interested to see if it would work as I was the first person to try...

The Oxfield is pretty safe as only Oxfam crew can get into it, but you never know; you do park very close by as well.  From the Oxfield, it's a straight run down the hill to the lockups at the bottom of Big Ground, and the cash machines at the top of Big Ground near the FMS compound have always had no charges before.

[Wurzelcat]

Getting the Oxfam bus from Temple meads so no chance of leaving stuff in the car. I guess cash points will be quiet until punters start arriving so could draw some out at last possible moment until the property lock ups open 

[clarkete]

24 minutes ago, Wurzelcat said:

Getting the Oxfam bus from Temple meads so no chance of leaving stuff in the car. I guess cash points will be quiet until punters start arriving so could draw some out at last possible moment until the property lock ups open 

I don't think the queues are as bad as they used to be for cash points.

[jfaragher]

21 minutes ago, clarkete said:

I don't think the queues are as bad as they used to be for cash points.

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.

[Acid Loafers]

100% sure some bars had contactless payment last year. 

The food places were a bit more reliant on cash if my memory serves me correct.

Ideally best if you bring your own cash. If you have to take out cash, best to do it in the morning as by 14:00 the queues for cash points get pretty large. 

I remember it felt so good getting cash after breakfast and then walking past later in the day and seeing the biggest queue  . Looked like it would have taken at least 30 mins to get through.

[glasto-worker]

18 hours ago, jfaragher said:

I used contactless in a few bars last time I'm sure - definitely in the Tow and Hitch, as they were interested to see if it would work as I was the first person to try...

 

 

17 hours ago, Acid Loafers said:

100% sure some bars had contactless payment last year. 

The food places were a bit more reliant on cash if my memory serves me correct.

You two may be correct - I was stuck in a Intensive care unit in Hampstead all of Glastonbury week and did not get discharged until the start of July 2017 so would not have a clue either way But its unlikely that all the Bars were taking Contactless payment due to the various technical problems.

as time goes on most of these will be overcome although it is a expensive enterprise for bar operators as each  merchant's service provider may favour one system over the other.

[herzzreh]

Sooooo... I went to Bonnaroo last June. In addition to the normal cash/cards deal, they had a contactless bracelet payment system set-up. You receive a bracelet in the email (also serves as your ticket), you can link a card to it and set up a pin code and then it work everywhere on site. Considering that the site is in a pretty rural part of the US and US has bad (compared to other countries) mobile infrastructure and it still works there without an issue... I don't see why this can't be implemented at Glastonbury. I wish....

[incident]

There's a couple reasons why that definitely won't, and definitely shouldn't happen.

I know that when that first became available, ME/Glastonbury were against the idea because it felt too much like tracking / invasion of privacy.

The other factor is that while it's been tried successfully at a few smaller festivals here, as far as I'm aware there's only been one attempt to do it on a significant scale - Download 2015 - and it's fair to say that it was a disaster in jut about every respect. That was enough to put all the other decent sized festivals off trying it, and as recently as last week Download themselves said they're not going to do it again.

Given the Download experience, and another festival I can't remember where the promoter ran off with all the cash leaving stallholders out of pocket, and peoples memories of the much hated beer token system you used to get at some UK festivals, I doubt you'd find much enthusiasm for trying something like that out at Glastonbury.

[herzzreh]

Valid points. Bonnaroo scheme is completely optional, cash and regular cards work just as fine if you choose not to. It was just so much easier paying with a bracelet.

[incident]

Technically, there's nothing to stop you paying by a contactless wristband as the moment at any stall that supports card payments - you just have to supply it yourself. There's a service called bPay that offers contactless payments in various flavours, including wristbands and stickers, but I don't think it's really taken off as yet.

[ian the worm]

I worked at a small gig last year with contactless at the bar. This one bloke that appeared very well off totally surprised me by tapping the reader with his watch. The machine took it so fair enough. Second round, no problem. Third round and it didn’t work. He looked for his phone, no joy. Didn’t have a card. His drinks were already poured and I took great joy in watching him fluster around the whole gig tryouts blag money from people for his round. Cash is king. 

[Old_Johno]

3 hours ago, herzzreh said:

Sooooo... I went to Bonnaroo last June. In addition to the normal cash/cards deal, they had a contactless bracelet payment system set-up. You receive a bracelet in the email (also serves as your ticket), you can link a card to it and set up a pin code and then it work everywhere on site. Considering that the site is in a pretty rural part of the US and US has bad (compared to other countries) mobile infrastructure and it still works there without an issue... I don't see why this can't be implemented at Glastonbury. I wish....

Had this at Bilbao BBk festival last year in Spain, you loaded up whatever you wanted on your wristband and could only pay using that, worked really well until the app crashed and no one could load anymore onto their wristbands for Friday night and nowhere would take cash. 

 

Always best to have a few options.

[Ayrshire Chris]

Been to outdoor gigs where you had to buy bar tokens and then buy drinks with them. Bloody nuisance. Have always bought drinks with cash at glasto but remember using a card in some retail outlets but not contactless.  You can’t go wrong with cash. 

[cammie81]

If they can successfully set up a contactless bracelet payment system at a festival on Great Exuma of all places then surely they can have it just about anywhere.

[Cnr_22]

1 hour ago, cammie81 said:

If they can successfully set up a contactless bracelet payment system at a festival on Great Exuma of all places then surely they can have it just about anywhere.

?

[FartSauce]

Any word on availability of contactless this year?