Festival - RFID Cashless Wristbands - Loading and topping up with credit cards

Tunstallstoven

Hi all

I'm off to a festival on the continent soon. They operate a cashless system whereby you have a wristband with a chip in it. You can preload money onto it, and also top up at the venue.

I wondered if anyone knows whether in either or both of these scenarios (preloading and topping up) a credit card with no fees on purchases can be used with on charges? Is it seen as a purchase or a cash withdrawal by credit card companies?

Many thanks

Max

boo_star

Although I can't answer that question, it does seem like a nice money spinner?

What happens with the remaining balance at the end? Even if you can get a refund I suspect that you'll have to jump through hoops to get it back.

Nebulous2

It makes sense. An example of how the technology is ahead of the financial system.

I go to a beer festival which is cashless. You buy paper tokens and use them to buy beer. Saves staff needing tills and giving change. People there are encouraged to give spare tokens to charity. Many take them home, sometimes intending to return, and then don't. Nobody seems to mind.

Tunstallstoven

@boo_star. They had the system last year. Yes, you can get a refund at the end and it was pretty straight forward to do so. However, there was some kind of admin fee involved so you lost a couple of quid or so.

I was sceptical last year, but in the end I must say I thought the whole system was quite impressive. There were teething problems which resulted in delays in getting onto the festival grounds. But it would seem they have put several measures in place to make sure it does not happen again.

Last year they announced the system quite late and I had already bought my travel money. So I had to use the hard cash to put credit onto the chip whilst at the festival. But this year I prefer the idea of pre-loading it with the money Saves having to queue etc. But if my credit card charges a fee to put money on it, and possibly my debit card too (seeing as it is a foreign transaction / non-sterling) then I'm not sure how I can get money on there without paying an unnecessary fee...

Thanks for the replies

boo_star

Seagull27 wrote: »

@boo_star. They had the system last year. Yes, you can get a refund at the end and it was pretty straight forward to do so. However, there was some kind of admin fee involved so you lost a couple of quid or so.

I was sceptical last year, but in the end I must say I thought the whole system was quite impressive. There were teething problems which resulted in delays in getting onto the festival grounds. But it would seem they have put several measures in place to make sure it does not happen again.

Last year they announced the system quite late and I had already bought my travel money. So I had to use the hard cash to put credit onto the chip whilst at the festival. But this year I prefer the idea of pre-loading it with the money Saves having to queue etc. But if my credit card charges a fee to put money on it, and possibly my debit card too (seeing as it is a foreign transaction / non-sterling) then I'm not sure how I can get money on there without paying an unnecessary fee...

Thanks for the replies

Well that proves my point, they suck a couple of quid out of you at the end.

I'd probably accept it if they took contactless cards/phones or their system. But that wouldn't earn them £2 x number of concert goers.

Tunstallstoven

boo_star wrote: »

Well that proves my point, they suck a couple of quid out of you at the end.

I'd probably accept it if they took contactless cards/phones or their system. But that wouldn't earn them £2 x number of concert goers.

Yeah, and I remember last year people being quite annoyed by the "refund fee" especially because they had not made people aware of it I don't think. If memory serves me, they said that the fee was there because of bank fees to process the refunds and that they did not make anything from it. Who knows!

The wristbands also act as a ticket and you have to scan it to get in and out of the festival grounds... I think they also use it to monitor capacity in certain areas...

Anyhow, back to the original question. I've called my CC provider and they said that whether it will be treated as a cash withdrawal or purchase is not up to them. Rather, it will depend on how the festival organisers (or who ever runs their cashless system) processes the transactions. That's not what I was told the first time I called them, which doesn't inspire much confidence! Does it sound about right though? Can anyone with any banking knowledge or experience of this situation confirm?

Cheers

eDicky

I can understand that your credit card provider is unable to predict whether the festival payment will be a purchase or cash advance, perhaps it can only be revealed by actually doing it.

It's not clear what cards you have and whether they have non-sterling fees. If they have, you can avoid such fees for both purchases and cash by getting one of the fee-free travel credit cards, or more simply a prepaid travel card. For example you could open a Revolut account on the smartphone app and have a virtual card ready to use in minutes, for any currency at the interbank rate (weekdays) and no fees. Another would be Monzo. Such cards, topped up from your debit card, can be used for your initial and subsequent loads of the cashless wristband, and for other expenses during your travel.

Tunstallstoven

Thanks eDicky.

The card I have are a Post Office Platinum Credit Card and a debit card with my Nationwide FlexDirect account.

I think the NW account has fees with anything that involves non-sterling. But what confuses me (I think!) is that if I buy foreign currency on line using it, I am not charged a fee. I guess it is different than withdrawing foreign currency from an ATM, but it is still foreign currency.

The PO CC has no fees for non-sterling purchases. For cash withdrawals in a foreign currency there is a 2.5% fee (£3 min.) plus interest is charged daily from the date of the withdrawal. The confusing thing with this card is whether pre-loading (and topping up) credit onto the wristband counts as a purchases or cash withdrawal. Like you say, I could find out by trying it but I'd rather know before trying

As for the other options, thanks for those. I would rather not apply for anything at this stage, especially if it isn't necessary. If I could confirm for sure that the NW account and PO CC would incur fees, then I might consider it. But ideally I'd like to use something I already have.

Cheers

Tunstallstoven

Thanks for all your help.

I am going to use the PO credit card and hope for the best! I won't be able to do it until the end of the week as that is when the wristband is arriving. I'll report back on whether I incur any charges, just in case someone stumbles across this in the future.

Cheers