Tappit, the global payment ecosystem for events, stadia and venues, today announced the addition of new safety functionality to its RFID wristbands.

The additional functionality, designed to improve safety and security, will enable Tappit’s cashless wristbands to store emergency contact details.

Activated for the first time at Kaleidoscope Festival 2019 – Ireland’s first family-friendly camping festival – the new feature has already proved popular amongst families. Tappit provided 3,500 wristbands for the child-friendly festival with nearly 75% of attendees uploading emergency contact information onto their wristbands.

The new feature is designed to help alleviate safety concerns by retaining contact information of a parent, guardian or friend. Those using Tappit’s RFID wristbands will be prompted to pre-register their emergency contact’s information, including name, email address and mobile number before the event. These emergency details will then be stored digitally on the RFID chip in the wristband when attendees arrive on site.

In the instance that someone gets separated from their group of friends, parent or guardian all they need to do is locate a clearly marked information point within the site and place their wristband to a reader for staff to see the contact information. The wristband also assists in first aid and emergency help as attendees can be identified if they’re unresponsive and relevant people can be contacted.

The safety enhancements are the latest addition to Tappit’s cashless payment offering, which allows attendees using Tappit’s wristbands to make purchases, ensuring an enhanced payment experience, less concern about theft and security, reduced queuing times and seamless transactions.

At the same time, organisers will be able to better understand their fans based on data collected through the system, including customer behaviour and transactional reporting, to continuously improve the event experience.

Jason Thomas, global CEO of Tappit said: “Safety is always the number one priority for event organisers and venue owners, regardless of the type of event or who will be attending. The response we received from Kaleidoscope was overwhelmingly positive and we are looking forward to seeing more of our partners utilise our new safety functionality as they continue to improve their fan experience.”