Download Festival goes totally cashless

Next month's Download Festival which happens at Donington Park over the weekend of Friday 12th to Sunday 14th June 2015 has decided to go totally cashless (except it isn't if you need to to top up).

Every single person on site, including staff, children, RIP and VIP customers will need a dog tag to get around the festival and/or buy something at the stalls. Cash will not be accepted at any bar, food stall, market stall, fun fair ride or merchandise stand.

RFID stands for Radio frequency identification, used to describe a system that transmits the identity (in the form of a unique heavily encrypted serial number) of a person or object wirelessly using radio waves, without the need for physical contact. In only takes less than 200 milliseconds to read the tags, making them effective for handling large volumes of people (such as at entry gates and main bars).

Using the same technology as contactless wristbands  the dog tags will hold information on it, including the type of ticket you bought and how much money is in the linked account to spend around the festival and needs to be topped up once empty, the remaining balance will be refunded after the event.

The account on the tag has to linked to a valid credit / debit card and a bank account, those without a bank account will need to nominate a bank account (or charity) for the refund of any remaining money after the festival ends.  The remaining money will be refunded to the first card used to add money to the tag's account.

RFID has opponents in Civil rights and privacy rights groups about the tiny radio transmitter chips that turn festival goers into a commodity dog-tagged for inventory and the individual's privacy is compromised.

Glastonbury Festival organizer Michael Eavis has gone on record as having reservation about such a system saying, "It's seems an incredible system. It does look as though it's something better than what we're doing at the moment. All the commercial implications of the chip are slightly worrying aren't they? I don't want to take people into a land they don't want to go into. And using information about people, I wouldn't be happy about that."

eFestivals doesn't see the point of a closed system where your spending is monitored all the time, with smartphones or bank cards contactless payment is already possible, you have to ask why do organisers want to adopt this system? You'd have to be a fool to think becoming an information commodity is a good idea.

Although the dog tags are not equipped with GPS technology and organisers say that therefore it will be impossible to track your movements. That's not actually true, the small chip can be read by remote readers as you access gates or stages where organisers may choose to locate readers. That's why you will need the tag "to get around the festival."

The system is also a problem for independent traders. The Nationwide Caterers Association (NCASS) recently reported that the systems are proving increasingly popular with event organisers abroad and at home, and revealed that whatever the motivation for using them, there is a very real problem relating to the relationship between traders and organisers, whilst it does not effect consumers.
 
They said, "Where they are in use, cashless payment systems transfer money taken to the organiser, not the trader that made the sale, leaving them open to potentially unscrupulous behaviour."

Traders now have to wait for the organiser to pay them their income leaving them footing the bill for wages, stock and lost income if there's any delay. They called for a code of conduct to be introduced after a festival failed to pay traders last August.

They added, "We cannot and will not dictate which system should be in use at festivals; however when there is scope for specific technology to damage the industry, there is a need for a solution to be provided. The code of conduct works on this basis, but does not seek to suggest that cashless payments are the best choice."

You have to ask again why organisers want to introduce their own cashless systems when they already exist in the marketplace. A closed cashless system where potentially the festival organisers have a total history of your movement and spending at an event.

Whilst eFestivals would have reservations at a festival where a wide variety of traders and areas exist some of which may not make money but add to the vibe of a festival, in Download's case this doesn't really apply. However the privacy concerns are not being dealt with, particularly on a system which has the potential to tie your bank details to the account registered on the chip.

We feel these systems are still flawed, in that invariably at events which have tried this in the past there are queues at the Top Up machines around the site where you still have to take your bank card or cash to pay - making the whole system just another process which suits the organisers and not the punters.

No doubt the Download audience will love it, but we're against a system that's open to data abuse, and only benefits the promoter.

To read more about the Dog Tag and register yours if you are attending (click here).

To see the Privacy Policy of YouChip GMBH who run the Dog Tag system (click here).

This year Download is headlined by Slipknot, Muse and Kiss, main support Judas Priest, Faith No More and Mötley Crüe, and such rock and metal megastars Black Stone Cherry, Enter Shikari, Marilyn Manson, Five Finger Death Punch, A Day To Remember, Slash and Miles Kennedy, Black Veil Brides, Lamb of God, Rise Against, Billy Idol, L7, Andrew W.K, In Flames, Testament, Parkway Drive, Hollywood Undead, Clutch, Body Count, Eagles of Death Metal, Godsmack, Mallory Knox, Motionless in White, Madball, Every Time I Die, Dragonforce, Backyard Babies, Crown the Empire, Northlane and H.E.A.T..

Plus Fightstar, A, Apocalyptica, The Cavalera Conspiracy, Modestep,The Sword, Sylosis, The Pink Slips, Aaron Keylock, Beartooth, Butcher Babies, Hey! Hello, Purson, Empire, The One Hundred, Iconic Eye, God Damn, Heart Of A Coward, Hyena, Allusondrugs, Roam, Dolomite Minor, Decade, Sirens in the Delta, Love Zombies, Trash Boat, Code Orange, Crobot, Blackberry Smoke, American Fangs, The Dead Daisies, New Years Day, Pop Evil , Ghost Town, In Hearts Wake, Insomnium, Rival State, and Counterparts.

Expect around 150 acts across five stages for the three days of the festival, at Donington Park, the UK's spiritual home of rock!

buy tickets now >

Prices are £180 for a weekend arena ticket, £205 for 3 nights with camping, and £215 for 5 nights with camping. Day tickets are priced at £75 for any day. Plus booking fees.

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