Lollapalooza attendees can leave their wallets at home when they file into Grant Park in Chicago August 1-3. This year, festival producer C3 Presents will send attendees wristbands ahead of the event that will allow them entry and purchasing power.
The system, called Lolla Cashless, was developed by C3 partner Front Gate Tickets, and it uses RFID technology. Wearers sync their waterproof wristbands to their credit card information online using a pre-selected, six-figure PIN number. When buying food, for example, an attendee just enters a PIN number at the point-of-sale, and the payment is applied to the credit card. The transactions are stored in the point-of-sale systems and not the wristbands.
C3 tested the system at the CounterPoint Music Festival in Atlanta in April.
“We followed up with festgoers at CounterPoint and feedback was supportive,” C3 Presents Marketing Director Patrick Dentler told RedEye. “People ended up getting through the lines quicker at food stands and the bars.”
There are other benefits beside purchasing conveniences.
“The wristbands have safety benefits too…,” Katie Sola reported for Mashable. “Medical staff can access a visitor’s emergency contact information through the wristband, and a lost child could be located by tapping in.”
For now, the system will be used to streamline the fan experience and not gather data.
“We don’t know John Smith purchased five Coors Light[s] over the course of Friday morning,” Dentler told Mashable.
Here’s what the wristband looks like, courtesy of someone selling one on Craigslist.
(Top photo credit: Ashley Garmon/Lollapalooza)
