不用现金的英国音乐祭

    看起来以活力十足而闻名的英国音乐祭将要推出一款新科技，这代表参加音乐祭的乐迷将完全透过电子方式消费，而不是使用现金消费。

    凡是购买食物饮料、玩骑乘类游戏机和买T恤，都可以透过一种预付的腕套来付费，它也兼具入场券功能。这款腕套採用无线电频率识别系统(RFID)，并且有内建式晶片。 音乐祭的主办单位希望这可以预防假票流窜，并且收集宝贵的资料以供之后行销使用。

    其他好处包括：不让上百万的现金出现在音乐祭场所裡，因为运送和保全的费用实在很高，而这也被认为是真正的安全风险；乐迷不再需要为带钱而烦恼；音乐祭员工的偷窃和欺骗行为将大幅减少；酒吧的服务速度更快，也可以即时监控库存情况；进出后台和VIP区域的人员更能有效管理。所有晶片裡的馀款最后都会汇回持有者的户头裡，要不然在音乐祭结束之后，他们也可以用这些钱买CD，或者在另一场活动裡消费。 在过去的两年裡，英国已经小规模地测试这种科技。

    研发这种科技的公司相信明年夏天，所有音乐祭将停止使用现金交易。 该科技将在今年伦敦的无线产品展当中亮相，主办单位希望明年的活动可以完全免用现金。 无现金趋势在英国越来越流行，例如某些城市已经把储值卡或类似的系统应用在交通运输方面，某些高尔夫球企业和大学也跟上这种趋势了。

(Technology) Cashless Music Festivals for the UK

It looks like the UK, which is renowned for its vibrant music festival scene, is set to introduce technology that means festival goers will pay for everything electronically rather than using money.

Payments for everything from food and drink to fairground rides and t-shirts are likely to be made through a wristband, pre-loaded with money, which also doubles as the event ticket. The wristbands will use radio frequency identification (RFID) systems, with a microchip embedded. Festival organizers hope this will also help prevent counterfeit tickets and gather valuable information for future marketing.

Other benefits include: removing millions of dollars worth of cash from festival grounds, which is expensive to transport and guard, and is seen as a real security risk; festival goers would no longer have to worry about carrying cash around; theft and fraud by festival staff would be cut considerably; service at bars would be quicker, and stock levels could be monitored in real-time; and entry to backstage or VIP areas could be better controlled. Any money remaining on the card after the event could be transferred back to the holders bank account, or it could be used after the festival for buying a CD or at another event. Trials of the technology have been conducted in the UK on a small scale over the past two years.

The companies behind the technology believe festivals will probably stop using cash by next summer. Technology will be showcased at this years Wireless Festival in London and organizers hope next years event will be entirely cash-free. Cashless activity is becoming more and more prevalent in the UK, such as the use of the Oyster card and similar systems used for transportation in other cities, as well as by businesses including golf clubs and universities.