By Karen Chen, The Ottawa Citizen
RBC Royal Bank Bluesfest planners announced Thursday that although the high-tech wristbands to be used for entry into the festival are fully functional and ready for use, the cashless payment system also intended to work via the wristbands will only operate in small-scale trials this year.
“We don’t want to roll it out and have it not be successful,” said Mike Rouleau, the festival’s director of operations.
The technology was intended to allow festival-goers to make cashless payments for on-site food, drinks and merchandise. But, Rouleau said, organizers ran out of time to test the radio-frequency identification technology, and wanted to get patron feedback before implementing the cashless system festival-wide. Organizers are confident, however, that the technology will work for festival admission, and wristbands that have already been purchased will not be affected.
Read more: Bluesfest cashless payment system to launch as trial only
