London buskers use tap and go tech to reach cashless audiences

Описание: (10 Jun 2018) LEADIN:
London's buskers are embracing contactless technology in a bid to cater for cashless audiences.
In what's claimed to be a world first, musicians and street performers in the British capital are accepting payments using fixed amount tap and go card readers.
STORYLINE:
Twenty-eight-year-old full-time busker and musician Charlotte Campbell is serenading London's Camden Market with her music.
Like many performers who showcase their talents on the city's busy streets, Campbell had recently noticed a drop in her takings.
The reason? As people become more reliant on card and digital payments, they're carrying less cash.
Now, Campbell has a high-tech tool to cater for increasingly cashless audiences - a contactless card reader.
"For buskers, it's been a bit of a fear that busking will become a kind of dying art," says Campbell.
"As time goes on, people are carrying less and less cash. What is the future for busking if it's not accepting contactless payment and digital payment."
The device is the result of a collaboration between organization Busk in London and Stockholm-based financial tech company iZettle.
"We first started working with Busk in London, which is a London-focused organization supporting street performers, a couple of years ago," explains Edward Hallet, the managing director of iZettle UK.
"And we set about solving a problem with them which was really simple basically, street performers are practicing their craft on the street and were receiving less and less takings, because of that simple thing which everyone knows about, which is people carry less and less cash."
Rather than having performers operate the card readers, therefore forcing a pause in performances, iZettle programmed the devices to automatically charge a fixed amount.
In Campbell's case, 2 British pounds (approx. $2.70 USD).
"What was happening is people were playing their song and people were walking by, wanting to make a payment or a contribution, and the street performer would have to stop playing," explains Hallett.
"So, it would kind if defeat the whole purpose. So, this is the kind of milestone in working with Busk in London, is set the street performer up so they can set their card reader up on a sort of set and forget method.
"So, they can take payment without having to stop playing."
Hallet says the technology could also be used by charity workers, collecting donations on London's streets.
The new tech appears to be working. Campbell says about 15 per cent of her income is now made via the small contactless card reader.
"I would say that my earnings were starting to dip as people were carrying less cash and now that I've got this alternative option, I can see it kind of growing a little bit," she says.
"I would say now I take about 10 to 15 per cent of my income from busking is on card, which doesn't sound like a lot, but who would turn away 15 per cent of their income?"
The technology is now being rolled out across the British capital, after successful trials.  Performers across London's 32 boroughs will begin using the devices in the coming months.
"This has been going for about 18 months with reports from buskers, people just saying; 'We don't have cash in our pockets anymore,'" says Kate Jones, programme director at Busk in London.
"This is a lovely alternative that they don't have to have cash in their pockets. We're not getting rid of cash, we're making a different option for people to pay."
For Campbell contactless card payments mean she'll be able to focus on what really matters - the music.
"But now, this is bringing busking to the 21st century."

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...