Squamish Festival's RFID wristbands allow attendees to go cashless

Squamish Festival organizers will be relying on a high-tech solution for its event site access and payment system, which will be cashless for added convenience.

Each of the festival’s 35,000 daily attendees will receive a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) wristband developed by Montreal-based Intellitix. The wristbands will run on the company’s IntelliPay system – a fully-integrated RFID system that combines access control, cashless payment and social media integration.

Festival goers received their wristbands through mail and will be required to active them online prior to attending the event in order to be able to use them.

The wristbands are similar to how public transit smart cards work in that attendees can add money into their account for any purchases made at the venue. This can be done with ease online, including by smartphone, or at the ‘Top Up’ stations found across the festival site.

It eradicates the issue of long lines for site access and payments as well as the potential for fraud and the security concerns that come with carrying large amounts of cash.

“The RFID system will allow smoother, more efficient access at the gates and faster processing for all onsite transactions at beer gardens, food vendors and merchant sites,” said Paul Runnals, Executive Producer of the Festival and Vice-President of brand.LIVE. “You can pay simply with a tap of the wrist. We’re very excited to be one of the first Canadian festivals to introduce a fully cashless environment, and we see this as the future of live events.”

The remaining unused balances will be automatically refunded to festival goers following the conclusion of the weekend event.

This year’s Squamish Festival is organized by Live Nation Canada, brand.LIVE Management Group and sponsored by Virgin Mobile. It takes place at Squamish’s Centennial Fields, which now boasts an expanded venue site from last year’s size of 32 acres to this year’s 81 acres. Organizers have promised improved shuttle transportation, larger campsites, enhanced stages and facilities.

The festival is in its fifth year and will be held from Friday, August 8 to Sunday, August 10. Over 70 acts will be performing on various stages, including headliners Bruno Mars, Arcade Fire and EMINEM, who will be performing his only festival in 2014.

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Featured Image: Intellitix