Closed-loop payments for events and venues

When looking at the continuous development in terms of technology, it is very useful to understand and keep up with what it has to offer. For instance, the swift change from paying by using cash to the other well-known alternative, the credit card, has inspired many innovative minds to enrich and develop payment options, into unique and well-structured forms.

In this article, the focus will shift towards the closed-loop payment process that Oveit has put into place for its users. Its purpose is to explain the process of implementing a closed-loop payment system for a variety of sectors, such as events, hospitality & tourism and retail as well.

The main function of a closed loop payment system is to allow consumers to pre-load funds into a payment device, in our case those would be things such as wristbands, cards and even one’s own face.

To begin with, it is very important to identify the key players for achieving this kind of system.

Those are: 

Top-up points (cashiers)

Depending on the number of attendees, one of our team members can advise on a minimum number of top-up points needed to avoid long queues inside your event. Those points need to be strategically placed (e.g.: at the main entrance, nearby food trucks, and bars). Participants will be using the top-up points during the event to add money into their accounts with a simple tap of their hand. They can choose to add money, either by paying with cash or card at the designated credit points. Prior to the event, the organizer needs to invite users (cashiers) and choose the correct permissions, in this case, it would be ‘Event cashier’. As an event organizer, you will have access to all the financial information, but as a user, the access should be limited accordingly for security reasons.

Vendors

As expected, the credit added should obviously be spent at your event. This is where the vendors come into place. Think of food trucks, bars and any other entities that provide goods and services at your event. From the perspective of an event organizer, the process is very similar to that of creating an account for top-up points (cashiers). An invitation is required to each individual entity providing goods and services (vendors); the only thing that differs is that they would have a slightly different interface, which is designed for selling goods. The vendor will have the option to create a menu and add prices accordingly. The participants will pay for their items with a single tap and even with their faces (Oveit FacePay is our way of processing biometric payments).

Man in front of a food truck

Devices with NFC capability

To achieve a successful closed loop payment system with Oveit, the vendors as well as the cashiers should have Android smartphones with NFC reading integrated. The devices will basically take the role of POS (point of sale system), allowing the users to complete a transaction in a matter of seconds. IOS devices will very soon be able to be used as well in Oveit’s closed loop payment system.

Wristbands/Cards/Face as payment options

The majority of organizers tend to opt for NFC tag wristbands when setting up their event’s closed loop payment system. However, there are two other alternatives that Oveit has to offer and one of them is very innovative. Oveit FacePay function is the method that positively affects the attendee’s payment experience considerably. The transaction is simply confirmed with a smile and a gesture, replacing the need for wristbands or cards. There is also the option of paying with a card that has the NFC chip integrated. Some organizers might decide on choosing this one, for the simple reason that more space is available for placing ads and sponsors on a card.

Stable payment processing (both online and offline)

For achieving a closed-loop payment system, internet connection plays a crucial role. All the transactions that occur during an event require internet to be updated and transferred into Oveit’s system. However, we have managed to find a solution if internet goes down. To avoid this kind of situation, our local devices have the capacity of transferring data into the cloud. In other words, this means that Oveit’s closed-loop payment system has the capacity of working both online and offline.

September 23, 2019 Event management, Event tech, Oveit Features No comments yet

7 reasons why you should use a cashless payments solution for events

I am a huge fan of the cashless payments solution, there’s no secret here. Today I would like to list 7 of the most important benefits of using one for your events.

picture showing Oveit's cashless payment solution used at an event
1. The cashless payments solution increases your revenue

As the cash habit fades away, customers tend to increase their spending limit. Reports show that attendees tend to spend up to 30% more at events where a cashless payment system is in place. They love to buy, but they just don’t like the long queues that make them lose all the fun. Which takes us to reason #2.

2. It speeds up transactions


The tap and pay system is, by far, the fastest way to process transactions. According to American Express, cashless payments are 63% faster than cash transactions and 53% faster than classic debit/credit card transactions. Each transaction can be processed in under 5 seconds, a mid-sized cashless payment set-up allowing you to process over 20 transactions/second.

3.Detailed live reports

The cashless payment system gives you live access to real-time data. It’s 100% transparent, allowing you and your partners to see live how much money attendees are spending (and how). It also allows you to create “cohort reports” and segment your attendees based on their spending habits (and combine those reports to any demographic data you have collected).

4. Fraud and losses become a thing of the past

With a cashless payment system in place, fraud becomes almost impossible. Not handling cash or tokens will make it impossible for someone to steal the vendor’s income or the attendees’ money. Human errors may still appear, but with an easy to use cashless payment system, they are highly unlikely and easy to correct.

5.Multiple revenue streams

Using smart NFC tags for payments allows you to also use them for attendee engagement and experiential marketing. The event ticket is paired to the tag (that can be stored into the event wristband, card, or badge) and allows attendees to interact by a simple tap of the hand. It can also be used for smart screens and gamification, converting your event into one fun ecosystem. And sponsors are always attracted to new ideas for attendee engagement.

6. Less staff needed for access control

The event wristband can also store your attendees’ access credentials. Permissions can be checked by a simple tap to an NFC receiver, allowing you to delegate your team members to more important tasks. It’s also faster than traditional scanning, allowing attendees to move to different sections of your festival without having to wait in endless queues.

7. Increased overall attendee experience

I have saved it for last but in my opinion, this is the most important benefit of using a cashless payment system. The speed and safety that it adds to your event will make the whole experience unforgettable. Not having to carry your wallet, being able to purchase a beer without having to wait for ages, allowing you to use your wristband to claim perks, those are all benefits that we all crave for.

Why use our cashless payments solution?

What differentiates us? With Oveit you can set up a cashless payment solution without the need for expensive hardware. We have developed a mobile app that transforms your mobile phone into a powerful and easy to use POS. No need for special scanners or NFC devices; add credit and record purchases using just day to day mobile phones.
Another reason why you should definitely use or solution is that it works both online and offline. And because it does not require a special set-up it can be used in any location you wish. Like a remote island or the top of a mountain.

Contact us for more info.

November 26, 2018 Event management, Event tech, Events, Festivals, Oveit Features 1 comment

Why and when to use conference apps? Partner spotlight: mReady Meet

For the past years we’ve worked with some of the best minds in mobile app development: our partners at mReady. Given the rise in mobile apps usage at conferences, we’ve asked them for some tips. In this interview you’ll find out how and when should event planners use conference apps.

1. How and why did you start building Meet?

Six years ago, when mobile apps were just on the rise and we were just beginning our journey as mReady, we thought would be a good idea to build an app for a conference some of our friends were organizing. So we did.

Over the next 3-4 year we have been constantly improving it, based on the feedback we got from the conference attendees and organizers. A couple of years ago someone approached us to request a similar app for their conference. Shortly after we did that, other requests for event mobile apps started popping up. It was a sign the time had come to take the next step and bring Meet to the market.

Mready meet team

2. What was the toughest challenge in building a product that fits the event planners’ needs?

The main challenge in building Meet was meeting the users’ needs. How do you manage to offer an outstanding event experience to the attendees, while also giving organizers the proper tool they need?

You cannot only focus on one aspect of the product, because if attendees don’t like it, they won’t use it, hence the organizers efforts won’t be paying off. Likewise, if the organizers can’t see the benefits for them and their attendees, they won’t know why request it.

3. Is there an event size where you would recommend conferences to start using mobile apps?

There are a few parameters to take into account when deciding whether to use a mobile app at an event. Some of them are the number of attendees expected, the number of days, stages and locations.

For a 1 day – 1 stage event dedicated to less than 100 people, there is very little to no need for an app. As the number of days, stages and / or locations increases, so will the necessity for an app, in order to better and easily structure all the event information and pass it on. At events larger than 150-200 attendees, even if it’s a one day event, the networking component of a mobile app becomes super useful.

Mready Meet app

4. Where should event planners look for Return on Investment when launching conference apps (visitor satisfaction, loyalty, increased interaction etc.)?

Because of the relatively high cost for a mobile app, it’s good to make sure it will have a positive return on investment. Since we’re not talking about an ecommerce app, it can be difficult to identify the right metrics to take into account for ROI.

However, there are a few elements that are worth considering. Since the smartphone is usually at an arm’s reach, it’s easy to get real-time content feedback from the attendees. By being able to communicate in real time all the event info, a mobile app contributes to building trust towards the event brand, increasing brand awareness.

For recurring events, an branded mobile app can also be turned into another promotional tool. Still, the most important element to focus on is the community. By facilitating meaningful connections between event attendees, a mobile app is addressing the very need for belongingness, which is one of the five primary human needs, and has become increasingly important in present times.

5. What should any event planner know before requesting a mobile app?

With the ROI in mind, it’s worth mentioning that a conference app, just like most of the other mobile apps, is not a loyalty tool in itself.

Just because you own a conference app it doesn’t mean that people are going to fight to get it without any communication effort from your behalf. It is the event organizer’s job to promote the benefits of using the event app to their attendees. In order to help it meet the ROI goals, the app has to be intensely promoted. And this can add to the marketing effort event organizers already have.

6. Why are customized apps better than off-the-shelf conference apps?

When talking about the difference between an off-the-shelf standard mobile app versus a customized or branded one, there is no better or worse. It all depends on the organizer’s needs. An off-the-shelf app is usually less expensive, less customizable and could require more persuasion skills for the attendees to adopt it. Nonetheless, is can be a very good option for low budget event organizers who want to offer a mobile app experience. The are some very good options for non-branded event apps available.

On the other hand, a customized conference app is focused entirely on the event’s brand identity, with many options for customization. At the same time, it becomes an integral part of the event experience and would be adopted more easily by the attendees. The need to explain the benefits of using an app during the event to the attendees is still there, however it’s simpler to be integrated into the overall communication plan.

Here you go – 6 great tips from a great team. If you need to get more insights, be sure to visit their app page and ask for a call. They will be happy to walk you through the app’s features and you can get a feeling of how your event would benefit from it.

February 6, 2018 Event professionals, Event tech No comments yet

How will your event app increase attendee engagement?

Technology really changed the event management game. From ticketing software, badges, or payments, to the way we gather information from our attendees, everything has changed due to tech.

The rise of smartphones offered event planners the chance of adding a new asset: the event app, a powerful tool when it comes to both gathering data and engaging attendees.

EVENT APP

Attendees engagement is crucial for every event planner. And event apps are great when it comes to measuring it. Further than the show/no-show rate, we all want to know if the attendees really were connected to our event. What are they curious about? What made them lose interest? And the event app is able to gather this information for you. You will know how many people downloaded the app, how many accounts have been activated, what messages generate interest and much more. All with the help of the app’s reports and analytics. But first things first:

What is customer engagement?

Customer engagement is best defined by the guys at Intercom in their powerful “Customer engagement” ebook:

“Communicating with your customer over the course of their lifecycle to help them get to the outcome that they want”. I really love the way they put the customer first. “To get the outcome that they want!” So the best practices involve putting your customer at the center of your activity. I am sure it is not the first time you hear this idea, but it can’t harm to hear it once more. When sketching the app for your event, ask yourself: How will it help attendees? How easily can someone create an account? What’s the added value for my guests?

Event app prior to the event

You can encourage your attendees to install the app just after they buy the ticket and supply them valuable information prior to the event. But try not to overwhelm them with your messages and send only valuable information (otherwise, why would they use it?).

Make sure you provide a schedule for the event and info about the speakers/artist, this is something most people will find extremely useful.

Using the app during the event 

The best moment to engage your attendees is, of course, during your event. But make sure you don’t use it to distract them, or it may backfire. Social media integration will help your attendees’ networking efforts, but at the same time can be used to create buzz around your event.

Gamification will motivate engagement and at the same time will help your attendees network. And considering that events are based on experiences more than anything else, it is a great way to ensure a level of loyalty from your guests.  

But don’t create an event app just for gamification, a smart event management app – like Oveit – can be used for gamification without the cost of another app.

Use polls and survey to increase engagement 

What is the best way to find out what your customers really want? By simply asking them. If you can’t read minds, of course. Remember using paper and pen for surveys and polls, asking attendees to “keep one and hand the rest to the person in your left/right/back”. Those days are over and now everybody can vote or offer feedback using the event app, in a much simpler manner. For both attendees and organizers.

Offer certification for your attendees

If your event has seminar sessions hosted by certified trainers your attendees can receive a certification for attending them. And your event app can help you automate this process and send the certification to your attendees. Simply connect their personal profiles to a specific seminar and they will be able to receive the diploma when the seminar is over. You can use the app to test their skills and give certification only to those that have answered correctly to a certain number of questions.

The event app will increase the engagement of your attendees and will help you collect relevant data about your guests. But when aiming for increased customer engagement remember to use your energy so that the attendees get the outcome that they want. And the app makes no exception.

February 2, 2018 Event management, Event professionals, Event tech, Events No comments yet