Cashless payment by card, wristband or NFC badge - is making its mark at festivals, stadiums, campsites and other events. Fluidity, security, speed: the advantages are obvious.
But how much does it really cost an organizer to set up a cashless solution?
1. materials and equipment
As a general rule, setting up a cashless system requires several items of equipment:
- Terminals: from €60 for rental.
- RFID/NFC wristbands or cards: between €0.50 and €1 / unit, depending on quantity and personalization.
💡 At Easytransac, equipment (POS terminals, cash registers, PDAs) can be rented for the duration of the event, reducing the initial investment.
2. software and platform
As a general rule :
- Cash register software + cashless license (cashless management, reporting, etc.): €500 to €900 depending on size.
- Remote or on-site training and configuration: depending on the number of teams involved.
3. transaction costs
💡 As a general rule, most service providers on the market charge either flat rates of around €1.20 per participant, or overall commissions of between 1% and 2% per transaction, often varying according to volume or event.
And this, of course, does not include hardware (TPE, PDA, RFID wristbands), on-site technical support, bank transaction fees, operation and maintenance and personalization (wristbands, cards, design).
👉 At Easytransac, we've made the opposite choice: clear, transparent rates that are among the lowest on the market, with no subscriptions or hidden fees.
Rates are fixed, transparent and non-binding:
- On-site cashless payment (wristband, card or CB) → 0.55% + €0.07 per transaction→ Single rate, no subscription or hidden fees.
- Online cashless top-up (via website) → 0.8% + €0.10 per top-up → Direct application to the amount credited.
💡 Easytransac commissions are simple and 100% transparent, with no monthly minimums, no additional fees and no surprises.
4. Support and operation
- On-site technical support: from €500 / day / technician.
- Network connection / Secure Wi-Fi: having your own wifi network is recommended.
- Refund management, closing and reporting in the backoffice: simple cash desk closing, management of inventories of products sold, control of live sales, control of live cashless loads. Refund management: extraction of an XML file in SEPA format for mass transfers to festival-goers.
Case in point: a festival with 5,000 participants
Let's take a realistic example:
- 5,000 participants
- Average expenditure per person: €40
- Average basket (cashless top-up): €50 per transaction
- Total sales of around €200,000
Full cashless (100% wristbands or cards)
In this model, all participants use an RFID wristband to recharge and pay.
The main costs to be expected :
- 5,000 bracelets at around €0.70 each → €3,500
- 40 terminals (full cashless) rented for €70 each → €2,800
- Platform + back-office license for 2 days → €900
- On-site technical support (1 technician for 2 days) → €1,000
- Point-of-sale refill (75%): approx. €825
- Online refills (25%): approx. €250
➡️ Gross total: €9,275 excl.
Unlike most of our competitors, we don't charge a percentage/fee on media activation or transaction.
We activate fees at the request of the organizers, but these enter directly into your sales. If you activate 4,000 Cashless supports with an activation fee of €1.50 per festival-goer, you already collect €6,000.00 + the residual unclaimed balance at the end of the festival ...
=> Your solution is self-financing and may even generate additional income. (This is the case for over 95% of festivals that fill their initial capacity.
This would give :
- Activation fee example €1.50 per request, on average 90% of participants → €6,000 in revenue for the organizer.
- Unclaimed balances: around 10% of participants leave an average balance of €2, i.e. + €1,000 retained.
💰 Actual net cost to the organizer: approx. €2,275 excluding VAT, or €0.46 per participant.
6. Factors that influence price
- Event duration and size.
- Number of points of sale / terminals.
- Number of bracelets ordered.
- Integration of options: access control, accreditation, CRM, etc.
- Additional services: advanced reporting, APIs, automation, etc.
7. Profitability and return on investment
Events equipped with Easytransac observe :
- +20 to +30% in sales
- -80% reduction in cash handling
- ROI from the very first edition for most organizers (if spectators turn up).
8. Balance sheet
Many organizers are now opting for hybrid cashless systems. Experience over the past few years has shown that this solution can significantly increase sales by 20-30%.
In a sector as competitive as events, it's essential to improve both the experience and the attendee journey to build audience loyalty. Hybrid cashless is based on a model that optimizes both sales and festival-goer satisfaction at the point of sale.
By offering two methods of payment (CB and cashless), you give attendees the choice. In practice, around 85% of festival-goers pay directly by CB (bank card, NFC smartphone, connected watch). This reduces queues at banks (only 15% use cashless), which in turn increases on-site sales.
Advantages :
- Participants consume directly at the cashless banks.
- They buy right up to the last minute (without worrying about reloading).
- Reduced friction and improved user experience.
- All-in-one solution: a single terminal (including cash register software) for both point-of-sale and top-up.
- Reduced staffing requirements thanks to lighter bank sizing.
- Residual balance on media (cards/wristbands) generating additional income.
- Less cashless after-sales management after the event.
It is also possible to activate activation or refund fees on cashless media. These fees are passed on in full to your sales. We do not charge any commission on transactions or activation of your media.
Easytransac, partner of cultural venues and events
As a specialist in electronic payment solutions, we support venue and event managers with :
▸ High-performance VSEs(fixed or mobileAndroid terminals )
▸ An integrated checkout system for unified management
▸ Cashless to digitize cash on site
▸ An access control, accreditation and CRM system
📩 Do you manage an event or concert venue?
Find out how Easytransac can automate and secure your financial flows in 2025! Contact us for a customized demonstration.
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