As venues and arenas go swipe-only, converting cash to cards keeps cash-preferred consumers connected.
Warmer weather is here, which means big outdoor events are on the horizon: baseball games, music festivals, amusement parks and other spring and summer crowd-pleasers. As Americans make their plans for concerts, sporting events and seasonal festivals, one familiar element is steadily being eliminated – cash transactions. Yes, the timeless tradition, of making change with a hot dog hawker across an entire row of fans may become a thing of the past as many venues have gone cashless to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and decrease transaction time.
This transition will benefit the bottom line for venues and speed up the lines no one wants to be in during a live event. While card-carrying attendees will go about their transaction business as usual, cash-preferred fans also plan to buy food, drinks, and souvenirs at in-person events … so stadiums are seeking solutions that satisfy cash users while still streamlining each transaction.
Enter the gift card
Powered by our TRNSX mobile point-of-sale technology, InComm Payments’ cashless venue solution allows fans to exchange cash for an open-loop gift card, which they can then use by swiping at any of the venue’s cashless points-of-sale. Open-loop gift cards are run through a major payments provider and can be redeemed anywhere in that provider’s network – meaning users can rest easy knowing any funds remaining on their card after the final buzzer can be spent easily outside the stadium, after the event, at their convenience.
The cards are white label and can be custom branded to teams or venues, delivering one more way for users to fly their home team’s colors. Consumers will also benefit from no after-purchase fees or expiration dates on loaded funds.
Not only does our solution provide an easy fix at the venue’s customer service locations, InComm Payments also offers an easy-to-use self-service kiosk option. These kiosks, which come at an additional cost with flexible pricing options, are provided through our excellent industry partners. Once in place strategically throughout the venue, the kiosks give fans the chance to convert their cash in just a few quick steps, dispensing ready-to-use gift cards in the selected amount so fans can get back to the game or show (and their concession grub) as conveniently as can be.
These kiosks are monitored by InComm Payments and feature flexible pricing models. And as a turnkey solution, venues won’t be responsible for logistics such as spare parts, onsite personal, cash handling and card management.
Our cashless venue technology is already in place in professional football and baseball stadiums around the country, as well as stadiums at major D1 universities and concert and festival arenas and sites. It’s clear that cashless venues are as much the present as the future, and InComm Payments’ technology is ready to make the transition – and every transaction thereafter – as seamless as possible.
Is your venue ready for fewer cash-handling headaches? Contact us today to learn more.