The uncertain future for cash

Cash has lasted a surprisingly long time, and its demise has been predicted for at least twenty years as electronic payment methods have grown and developed. There was even a debate if euro notes and coins should be produced when the single currency came to life in 2002. But fanciful predictions have a way of becoming fact and as festival season approaches there’s a BBC article suggesting that cash is to be axed from UK festivals.

The idea is that instead of using money, festival goers will be forced to pay electronically for everything from food and drink to t-shirts and fairground rides. Payments are likely to be made via a wristband, which also acts as the event ticket. Festival goers will have to pre-load the devices with money. One of the companies behind the technology said two festivals would “definitely” eliminate money by next summer.

The manager of Festival Republic - which runs some of the UK’s largest events including Reading and Leeds festivals - trialled a cash-free event and is quoted by the BBC as saying, “It was very straight forward, there was no opposition at all. The reality is that we are all looking at cashless activity in the UK. It will definitely happen. It’s just a matter of time.”

The main benefits are seen to be:

-Avoiding having millions of pounds of cash on festival sites, which is seen as a security risk and is expensive to transport and guard.
-Improving security for festival goers - who would no longer have to carry cash around and who could freeze their account if the payment device was lost.
-Cutting theft and fraud by staff working at festivals.
-Making service quicker at bars, and allowing management to monitor stock levels in real-time.
-Controlling entry to different parts of the festival such as backstage or VIP areas.
Money left on the card at the end of an event could be transferred back to the ticket holder’s bank account.

Will the trend spread? People travelling around London are used to cashless transactions, with the Oyster card. Similar systems are also used on transport in other cities and in businesses from universities to golf clubs. Which other businesses might find this sort of system advantageous?

It’s easy to see a whole host of problems. Few firms are rushing in to use the technology. “If it did go wrong and there was no means for anyone to buy anything because nobody on-site was geared up to take cash then that that could be quite a catastrophe,” says one commentator about the cashless festival plans.

But ask me again in another ten years.