Hobart to host first major cashless event using Commonwealth Bank’s Albert payments device.

The City of Hobart has added a hint of technology to further tempt the tastebuds of locals and visitors by selecting Commonwealth Bank's next generation EFTPOS tablet, Albert, as the key payments device for the 2015/16 Taste of Tasmania food festival.

Billed as the ultimate foodie event, Taste of Tasmania will be ‘cash free’ with more than 250,000 expected festival-goers using credit or debit cards at any of the 80-plus stalls to pay for foodie goodies.

By using Albert, the City of Hobart Council will create a cash-free event and keep the overall cost down for the council’s ratepayers. With more than 200 Albert tablets headed to Hobart, this will be the largest ever use of the new technology in one location.

Vanessa Nolan-Woods, CBA's General Manager for Local Government said, "The City of Hobart is leading the way by embracing the latest technology for payments at the Taste of Tasmania festival.

“It’s great to see councils using innovative solutions to help deliver better experiences for locals and tourists alike. Using the Albert tablets will be easy and fast, and moving away from cash provides benefits for security on-site.

“With more than 250,000 people expected over the seven day Taste festival, this demonstrates the enormous potential of Albert and how easy payments and transaction processing can be for major events.”

The Albert EFTPOS tablets used at Taste will feature a newly developed app enabling the Council to centralise payments processing for the entire event. This system will provide the Council with accurate data on how many people attend and how they spend their money, allowing the Council to plan for future years and better understand the festival’s contribution to the local economy.

The City of Hobart’s decision to use Albert sees it join a growing list of organisations taking advantage of CBA’s next generation EFTPOS tablet. For instance, the City of Gold Coast is trialling a new self-service payment kiosk at their Elanora and Runaway Bay libraries. CBA is the biggest financial services provider to local councils.

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Further information

• Hobart City Council media release: The Taste of Tasmania - still the free-to-enter event we all know and love
• CBA media release: City of Gold Coast transforms payment service delivery