Page 134 - AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report 2016

134along and get it out to pay for every drink they consumed).54People wearing these wristbands had to connect them to their PayPal accounts and ‘pre-load’ them with the desired amount (for example, 20, 50, 100 euros...). Every time they wished to pay for a meal, for example, all they had to do was swipe their wristband over a terminal equipped with a RFID reader and speci c software called PlayPass (by Paypal), and the transaction would be charged to the wristband account as if it were a real wallet.55Another interesting function of the PayPal system is the possibility of topping up: when the user’s cash fell to ve euros, the band was automatically loaded to the initial amount (for this purpose PayPal must be linked to a bank account or card).56During this edition the organisers hoped to glean information on whether this rst trial actually improved users’ experience, including security aspects, and the management of crowds of people queuing to pay in bars or merchandise shops (also speeding up the payment processfor vendors). In a survey conducted on the rst festival goers who took part in the experiment with the wristband, 85% said they preferred this system57 to other more traditional methods.For the 2015 edition, following its success as a tool for improving and facilitating the experience of VIP attendees, the wristband was used to authorise access to the whole festival (instead of the classic fabric or plastic wristband) and was given to all festival goers regardless of their type of ticket to use in all areas, as well as to share Facebook photographs and updates.58Money could be loaded directly from the website, with the option of doing so via PayPal. On arriving at the festival, visitors were givena smart RFID wristband in exchange for their ticket.Since 2015 more Spanish-based festivals have adopted wristbands of this kind, especiallyfor payments. One of them is Sónar Festival (Barcelona). The organisers decided that for the recent 2015 edition all in-festival payments would be in ‘cashless’ mode59 (that is, without cash or cards) using the wristband. At this edition ofthe festival the wristband was used solely for payments, not to gain access to the various spaces or to the festival itself.60For this purpose they set up SonarCashless points where festival-goers could request their RFID wristband free of charge and load it – either with cash or directly from a card – in multiples of ve euros up to a maximum of 300 euros.At these points and at the points where refreshments and merchandise were sold, users could check their balance. To top up the band, unlike in the previous example, the wearerhad to go to one of these points to load more money into the band wallet. This di erence is partly due to the fact that neither PayPal nor its software was used as a payment bridge between bank account and card payment. To get their unspent money back, users needed to requestit before leaving the festival for the last time or half an hour before it ended, or online during the following three days.In today’s world, where we attach increasing importance (even worry about) our privacyand how companies and governments use our personal data, it is interesting and very positive to note that the organisers clearly state on the festival website that this RFID system61 doesnot record any personal information (that might allow the person to be identi ed, including bank details) and nor does it monitor people entering or leaving the festival (festival goers could regard such data as private, especially if monitoring takes place without their knowledge). Forthis festival, the approach to technologyand understanding its logic is of paramount importance both on stage and for the festival experience in general.2. NT BEFORE AND DURING THE FESTIVALFocus: Use of New Digital Technologies at Cultural Festivals