{"id":174176,"date":"2024-11-21T16:46:36","date_gmt":"2024-11-21T21:46:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.interac.ca\/?post_type=content&p=174176"},"modified":"2025-05-30T16:57:42","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T20:57:42","slug":"attending-an-upcoming-event-prepare-for-cashless-payments","status":"publish","type":"content","link":"https:\/\/www.interac.ca\/en\/content\/life\/attending-an-upcoming-event-prepare-for-cashless-payments\/","title":{"rendered":"Attending an upcoming event? Prepare for cashless payments\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Are you ready for it? What matches the thrill of live entertainment\u2014whether it be seeing a beloved pop star in concert, watching your favorite team play in person, or attending a theatre performance? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From small-scale music festivals to massive stadium tours, demand for concerts in particular has never been higher. Live Nation Entertainment Inc, which owns Ticketmaster, reported that 2023 brought all-time highs in both attendance and ticket sales<\/a>. Attendance jumped 20% per cent (to a staggering 145 million) in 2023 alone, and grosses for the top 100 North American tours topped out at $6.63 billion<\/a>, a 40 per cent rise over 2022.\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re one of the lucky ones able to score tickets to a big event and the date is approaching, you want to make the most of the experience, and that starts with planning. There are many things you should bring to a concert or event (along with your friends, your friendship bracelets, and your sense of fun). But one thing you might consider leaving at home? Your wallet. That\u2019s because across Canada, more and more venues have transitioned to only accepting cashless payments: an efficient, convenient, and secure way to pay.\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been a long time coming\u2026\u202f <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Canadians are all-in on contactless payments. In fact, seven in 10 Gen Z Canadian adults (69 per cent) have embraced the mobile wallet, and six in 10 (63 per cent) prefer to leave their physical wallet at home for short trips, according to a recent survey commissioned by Interac.<\/a> \u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s good news when it comes to concerts, because cash isn\u2019t even an option any longer at many venues. Always check with the venue\u2019s website, but more often than not, you\u2019ll find language indicating that cash will not be accepted at any point of sale and that so called \u201creverse ATMs\u201d are available for those patrons who need to input cash and receive pre-loaded cards.\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So long, slow lines\u202f <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve all seen lines for concessions or souvenirs that seem to go on forever, and every minute you spend waiting takes away from your enjoyment of the experience. One of the biggest benefits of contactless payments is how effective they are at speeding up the checkout process (especially with the rise of tap to pay technology on smartphones).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding Interac Debit to your phone<\/a> allows you to breeze through checkouts with just a tap of your smartphone or wearable device. And that speedy, contactless payment process<\/a> means that concertgoers can take the moment and taste it<\/em>\u2014everyone saves time when customers aren\u2019t fumbling around for cash or cards and cashiers aren\u2019t making change.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spend safely <\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Cashless payments reduce the opportunity for theft and lost money at events with large crowds. And they provide a digital record of your transactions.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you make contactless payments through Interac Debit, you can feel confident that the right security measures are in place, including: <\/p>\n\n\n\n