The thing with large outdoor music festivals is that they are prime for pickpockets, especially since it can be extremely crowded, not to mention with alcohol being involved, it makes people less aware of their surroundings and more careless, thus making the lives of pickpockets a lot easier. However if you are planning on attending Coachella this year, you can safely leave your wallet behind.
Coachella and Square have recently announced that they will be allowing the use of Apple Pay at the event. This is thanks to Square providing vendors at the event with Apple Pay compatible mobile card readers. This means that attendees will be able to make payments using devices like their iPhone and their Apple Watch.
Of course iPhones and Apple Watches are still pretty lucrative for thieves so attendees will want to keep an eye on their belongings all the same, but at least they won’t be able to steal any money off you. In addition to Apple Pay, the event will also support other forms of mobile payments such as Android Pay and EMV.
This year’s Coachella will also bring support for iBeacon where users who link AmericanExpress cards with the official Coachella will be able to win a handful of prizes. Coachella will be kicking off on the 15th of April and will run for two weeks at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.