Combining two of the most hyped trends in fintech, wearables and cryptocurrencies, Irish startup Festy has unveiled a wristband that lets festival-goers make contactless payments in Dash.

User add the Dash currency to their QR code and NFC-integrated wristband and then use it to pay for food and drinks at POS terminals where Visa contactless is accepted as well as on phones with NFC tags.



Festy is linked directly to a consumer’s Dash account so transactions occur within seconds, while merchants have the ability to cash out their Dash for the equivalent fiat currency.



Dash claims to be the world’s leading digital currency for payments and is currently the sixth most valued cryptocurrency at over $1.3 billion. Festy argues that the currency is ideal for festivals, where party-goers often have long waits in line to use ATMs that can charge several euros per withdrawal.



Graham de Barra, CEO, Festy: "Unlike existing traditional bank payments that take a 2-5% fee, there is no cost on receiving Dash for merchants. Merchants accepting payments will never have a chargeback, and there are potentially enormous savings to be made compared to the crippling fees from existing payment solutions."