Everyone that’s talking about a cashless society inevitably talks about digital wallets and generally that means paying via smart phone. That’s a bit inconvenient when you’re on holiday.
Unless you’ve one of the latest waterproof smartphones, you’re going to leave your mobile at the side of the pool ready to be stolen while you have a dip. (Or take a swim in the briny and leave your phone on the sand/stones. – Ed.)
PayPal has the solution, and that’s to leave your cash, wallet and mobile phone behind. In Ibiza holiday makes at the Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Hotel and Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza are using a smart VIB (Very Important Bracelet) for payments.
Want a drink at the pool or in a club? Shop without going back to your room for your wallet and as a bonus enjoy priority check-in and check-out and. The smart VIB does that for you as well as acting as your room key.
The hotel sends an email to the guest to sync the guest’s PayPal account with the device. Upon check-in, the guest signs a billing agreement to activate payments via Reference Transactions. From then on the bracelet works in prepaid fashion, automatically topping up at €300 every time the balance goes below €10. If the value of a particular purchase is higher than €300, a transaction will be made for that amount. Any remaining balance at the end of a guest’s stay is automatically transferred back into their PayPal account.
Of course, the downside is that without having to spend actual cash you might easily lose track of just how much you’re spending while you’re on holiday. However you need do is log into your PayPal account when you get back to your room and you’ll be able to keep track of your holiday spending – It’s probably easier to keep on top of your budget than if you were mixing your spending with cash and credit cards while you’re away.
