Want a drink at Festival? You’ll need an RFID

Say goodbye to drink tickets at Festival International de Louisiane. When the annual music and arts festival opens April 25 in downtown Lafayette, fans will have to buy drinks using new RFID wristbands.

Payments are made when these electronic bands are “tapped” at monitoring stations at beverage and merchandise locations. The purchase price is deducted from a balance set by the user.

Beverage and merchandise booths will no longer accept cash or tickets. All financial transactions will be done through the wristbands.

Scott Feehan, the festival’s executive director, said tickets have been abandoned after years of research and discussion.

“Tickets, logistically, are tough, from getting them out during festival hours, keeping them staffed, managing the cash,” said Feehan. “It’s just a tough process.

“Some of the vendor booths, they turn the tickets in and weigh them. There’s a ton of challenges with tickets. We’ve been looking for solutions for years.”

The wristband system is a product of Intellitix, an international company that has set up cashless payment systems for Festival d’Ete de Quebec, San Diego Comic Con International and the Ryder Cup golf tournament. The company’s website states clients can increase on-site, event revenue by 15 to 30 percent.

Consumers experience shorter lines, faster transaction times and can control their spending.

Starting April 13, Festival International’s Amis supporters and pass holders can register for wristbands through the festival’s app or website. A purchase amount can be set up by credit card.

Users also have the option to set an automatic recharge of their wristband amounts, if the balance falls below a certain level.

When the festival is over, unused funds can be refunded back to the card or a bank account. A $5 processing fee will apply to all refunds.

Feehan stresses that users don’t have to register to participate in the system.

“You can show up at festival, walk up to the ‘top up’ booths, which is basically the old ticket booths,” said Feehan. “You can hand over cash. But instead of giving you tickets, they’re going to hand you a wristband, which will have your cash on it.

“You can go do your stuff and go right back to the booth with cash. You don’t ever have to register your wristband at all, if you don’t want to.”

Feehan said the technology will not be used to track fans or obtain their credit card information.

“The only information we’re curious about, we’re going to try to ask for a zip code,” said Feehan. “That’s always a challenge for us, figuring out where people come from.

“But that’s it. We’re not going to be tracking user movements or what someone is buying.

“We’re setting up a payment gateway through a bank process. We’re not going to have access to any of the credit card stuff. None of that is going to be available to us at all.”

Want to go?

What: Festival International de Louisiane

When: April 25-29

Where: Downtown Lafayette

Information: festivalinternational.org