UK & Ireland MD David Hornby says that one of the greatest advantages of using blockchain-supported ticketing technology is the value of the data and security it provides : “ It means you know who everyone in the venue is and from a security perspective the tickets will have a bar code that is activated at the venue , so it illiminates touting and fraud .”
SecuTix , the ticketing arm of Swiss software development company ELCA , has been around for almost 20 years but its TIXnGO blockchain technology is a relatively new development . A SecuTix client for more than a decade , Paléo was one of the first festivals to use TIXnGO .
Hornby says Paléo is attended by nearly 250,000 people over six nights : “ Among them are 10,000 stakeholders on site ; everyone from caterers to production people . They all get tickets for the event , and for many years those tickets were used as currency – they were seen as part of the deal . The event owners wanted a way to better manage that process . TIXnGO manages the ticketing distribution , tracks the ownership and where they go .
“ When the tickets are delivered you have a time stamp code that is registered in the blockchain . Because it is in blockchain it means other people can see who owns the ticket and when it was purchased . The blockchain allows you to set rules around who can own the ticket
UEFA uses mobile ticketing application TIXnGO
and what they can do with it – the promoter is able to set those terms .”
Cashless Intelligent Venue Solutions director Paul Pike says that the industry is moving away from RFID ( Radiofrequency identification ) cashless
solutions and the focus is now very much on the use of mobile phone apps .
“ I ’ ve always felt that preloading wristbands is just a bit archaic , especially now we are coming out of the pandemic , and everyone is used to using their smartphones for transactions ,” he says .
David Hornby Mike Smith Max Shand
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