About the project
For one of the biggest dance festivals in the Netherlands we designed and built a wallet feature with NFC payments — top up in advance via bank or PayPal, pay on site with a single tap. No tokens, no queues.
The challenge
Mysteryland brings tens of thousands of visitors together on one site every edition. And at the busiest moments they all want the same thing: to buy tokens. That meant long queues at the central sales points — precious festival time spent waiting instead of on the line-up.
Where we came in
Visitors already had the Mysteryland app in their pocket for the line-up, schedules and map. In that we saw the key: no separate wristband or card, but the phone everyone already carries as a wallet for the whole festival.
Scroll — the iPhone flies into view
The solution
We extended the app with a full wallet. At home, visitors top up in advance via their bank or PayPal — well before the first act. On site they pay with NFC: phone or smartwatch against the terminal at the bar, one tap, done. No tokens, no card, no queue.
Paying at the bar — one tap with NFC
Designed for the crowd
Paying at a festival has to be foolproof: in bright sunlight, with wet hands, after a long day. We designed a flow you grasp at a glance — big balance, clear amounts, instant confirmation — that works just as smoothly on a small smartwatch screen as on the phone.
The result
The queue at the till disappeared. Visitors spend their time on the festival instead of waiting, and paying became invisible — exactly as it should be. What started as a solution for the queue became a natural part of the festival experience.
The solution in short
Top up from your bank. Pay with one tap. The queue disappeared.Wallet & NFC — Mysteryland
Stefan Schoenmaker
Questions about this case, or thinking about a similar project? I'm happy to think along.
