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

[ChimpyJ]

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?

[GoonerRob]

Card for most things. Will bring a couple hundred or so in cash just in case.

 

[CaledonianGonzo]

Card, with some cash on me as a backup in case of issues.

[Hugh Jass II]

Cash will be much easier from a budgeting perspective. I've put aside £250 as spending money for the weekend with a view to making it last.

Cards are dangerous, too easy to just keep buying stuff and not pay attention to how much you're actually spending.

[Tuna]

There were rumblings of a cashless wristband system weren't there? Has that been binned? 

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

I think I last had some psychical cash about three years ago.

[Ayrshire Chris]

Cards make sense for security and ease of use but with some cash as backup. Downside is possibly overspending especially after a few drinks! Worth checking the card balance the next morning. Also means you don’t walk about with pocketfuls of change or the tent floor gets littered with it as you try and change clothes. 

[incident]

6 minutes ago, Hugh Jass II said:

Cash will be much easier from a budgeting perspective. I've put aside £250 as spending money for the weekend with a view to making it last.

Cards are dangerous, too easy to just keep buying stuff and not pay attention to how much you're actually spending.

You can, if you want, set up a Starling account or similar just for Festival usage, with spending limits, and pots of money allocated to each day. In an extreme case, don't take an overdraft on the account, and schedule a £50 transfer in eachday.

4 minutes ago, Tuna said:

There were rumblings of a cashless wristband system weren't there? Has that been binned? 

Nope, not rumoured for Glastonbury at all.. You're probably thinking of Boomtown which is doing that (and screwing over their traders and customers by banning all other payments).

Edited March 10, 2022 by incident

[efcfanwirral]

I usually use card just from a convenience point of view. I remember the days of taking a stack of notes and always felt a bit uneasy with that especially with all the talk of Wednesday/Thursday tent thefts. 

That said, I'll definitely make sure I have some cash on me as I got caught out at Leeds Festival when some of the card machines weren't working, or more likely the signal or internet went down or were poor to begin with. 

Edited March 10, 2022 by efcfanwirral

[Hugh Jass II]

4 minutes ago, incident said:

You can, if you want, set up a Starling account or similar just for Festival usage, with spending limits, and pots of money allocated to each day. In an extreme case, don't take an overdraft on the account, and schedule a £50 transfer in eachday.

That sounds like far too much effort for me.

[Crazyfool01]

I normally take £200 ish cash and use the LOCKUPS as a safety deposit box … but this year I’ll probably leave less in there and use my contactless … also leave the card in there along with my house and car keys … these things are bloody amazing … they don’t loose things or have them stolen … simple … use the bloody lockups everyone … 

[Tartan_Glasto]

I've always taken cash before, as I give myself £300 to spend while there and having it as cash helps me keep on top of it. Plus the card machines do rely on there being a decent signal for them to work which isn't always the case. 

[kalifire]

I’ve enjoyed having cash because when it’s gone, it’s gone. It would be far too easy to keep spending or lose track using a card. I normally take £50 a day plus £100 backup I can dip into if I need to. I take 8 cans of Scrumpy Jack and a litre of vodka in with me, buying cokes from the bars and topping them up. That keeps costs low so I’m mainly just buying food. Anyway, I digress. I’ll continue to use cash (if I can) and have the backup on the card. 

Edited March 10, 2022 by kalifire

[Barneym]

Do the smaller food places all take card? I’ve always just taken cash maybe bought a round or two later in the weekend on card from bigger bars once I’ve inevitably overspent 

[shuttlep]

Cash is King

 

 

not everyone I want to buy off takes card. 

 

I was at Wilderness festival last year, card only everywhere. yet still had cash machines on site. I WONDER WHY 😉

 

[WestCountryGirl]

Yeah I like to take cash, also from the budgeting perspective. Will have a card with me too, but I just find it helpful/reassuring to be able to see how much I'm working with as the days progress, without having to log on to my banking app. If cash is still an option this year, I'll be doing that again (and using the lock-ups, of course).

[nikkic]

Card all the way.

[incident]

6 minutes ago, Hugh Jass II said:

That sounds like far too much effort for me.

Even without limiting available funds like that, I'd expect most bank apps to give you a certain level of spending control these days - even my stuck in the past bank allows me to set a maximum transaction size and to freeze/unfreeze the card as needed.

[incident]

2 minutes ago, Barneym said:

Do the smaller food places all take card? I’ve always just taken cash maybe bought a round or two later in the weekend on card from bigger bars once I’ve inevitably overspent 

In 2019, broadly yes. I think there may have been a small handful niche places that didn't, but would expect that everywhere (official) will do this time given the events of the past couple years.

Anyone that doesn't take card can get the capability very easily - they can get a SumUp reader for less than 20 quid, so there's not really a barrier to entry.

[efcfanwirral]

4 minutes ago, Barneym said:

Do the smaller food places all take card? I’ve always just taken cash maybe bought a round or two later in the weekend on card from bigger bars once I’ve inevitably overspent 

A lot I went to last year had those card machines that connect to the stallholder's mobile phones. It seems like its more possible now, but whether it takes a chunk of their profits I'm not sure

[efcfanwirral]

20 minutes ago, incident said:

You can, if you want, set up a Starling account or similar just for Festival usage, with spending limits, and pots of money allocated to each day. In an extreme case, don't take an overdraft on the account, and schedule a £50 transfer in eachday.

I started using Monzo when I went travelling a few years ago and have continued to ever since. Have everything paid into my "proper" old school bank account and then transfer to Monzo to go out. Was a response to being mugged a few years back also. The card for the accounts with my actual money in never leaves my house

[Gingerfish79]

I'll probably look to pay with card and have some cash in reserve. Do we think most places doing contactless will be doing Apple Pay?

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

Food stalls that don’t take card are effectively flushing money down the drain.

[drunk pumpkin]

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!

[Enda Krabappel]

46 minutes ago, GoonerRob said:

Card for most things. Will bring a couple hundred or so in cash just in case.

 

Same for me