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Consumer acceptance of cashless payments tested at Isle of Wight
20 Jun 2011

The Isle of Wight Festival saw the first-ever pre-paid contactless wristbands rolled out by MasterCard, which received a positive reaction from consumers.

People in the VIP enclosure received the wristbands, which could be used to buy food and drinks at Central Catering's bar and Jamie Oliver's Fabulous Feast restaurant at the event.

Some 96 per cent of festival-goers said the cashless payment solution was far quicker to use than a debit or credit card, while 98 per cent also said they were easier.

"The project was really the first part of testing consumer acceptance of a truly 'cashless' environment, which has been much talked about in the festival world," explained Hany Fam, president of MasterCard UK and Ireland.

Recently, MasterCard announced it would be bringing contactless payment technology to transit systems in the US.

Each Commuter Check Prepaid MasterCard will come equipped with the financial giant's PayPass technology, with users being able to benefit from swifter and easier payments.