Couleur Café is an annual music festival for which more than 70,000 visitors descended on Brussels’ Ossegem Park this year.
A smooth and hassle-free payment experience: The key component for a successful festival
An essential component of a successful festival is a smooth and hassle-free payment experience for festival visitors. At Couleur Café, this task was entrusted to Beyond Ordering. For the entire duration of the festival, Beyond Ordering provided the hardware and financial transactions at various locations, including the festival site, camping and parking. At more than 25 locations and with more than 125 payment terminals, visitors could enjoy a versatile payment experience, where they could pay with vouchers, cash, card (Bancontact, Visa/Mastercard), wallet (Apple Pay and Google Pay) or via QR (Payconiq).
A successful combination
By accepting both vouchers and direct payments via Payconiq at the terminals, festival organizers ensured a smooth and efficient payment experience. During the festival, it was noted that voucher sales gradually decreased as the festival progressed, while direct payments through terminals actually increased. This pattern is a well-known trend faced by festival organizers. Indeed, as the festival progresses, visitors become more frugal about buying vouchers. However, accepting direct terminal payments offered an opportunity to generate additional revenue by having direct sales at the bars as well as not having a barrier through voucher sales.
A clear overview of revenue
The Beyond Ordering management system provided a clear and transparent overview of the revenues. By recording both voucher sales and direct terminal payments, organizers were able to gather accurate data on revenue streams at the various venues. This enabled them to have real-time insight into the financial status of the festival. The integrated system also made it possible to analyze payments, generate reports and quickly identify any discrepancies or problems. This provided efficiency and transparency in the management of cash flows.
Registration of payments ensures control of financial processes
The increasing trend of electronic payments was also evident during the festival with cash payments making up only 11% of revenues and actually decreasing over the three days. By recording cash and electronic revenues at the voucher sales, both vendors and the financial cell had a clear overview of each terminal, vendor and point of sale. This provided better control and transparency in the festival’s financial processes.
The benefits of an all-in-one terminal for festivals
Using an all-in-one payment terminal offers several advantages, including easy customization to the venue, efficient voucher sales, fast bar sales and even the ability to sell merchandise. Festivals can benefit from the versatility and convenience offered by these payment terminals, while providing a seamless payment experience for visitors.
