Apple Pay gets you cheaper, faster service at summer festivals

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Apple Pay iPhone
Yet another reason to use Apple Pay.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

If you aren’t already using Apple Pay, you should be. Not only does it make shopping easier, but it can also save you money on all kinds of purchases every week. And now, Apple Pay users are getting faster service on discounted food and drink at concerts and festivals.

Apple Pay “fast lanes” have started popping up at concessions stands, helping users avoid the lengthy lines.

Festivals are awesome if you love live music, but they’re also filled with way too many people who insist on eating and drinking at exactly the same time as you. If you plan on filling your belly before bedtime, it’s best to start queuing (with plenty of cash) at around 10 a.m.

But not if you use Apple Pay.

Apple Pay ‘fast lanes’ pop up at Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival

Event coordinators at BRIC’s Celebrate Brooklyn! festival in New York this week are advertising Apple Pay “fast lanes” that offer faster service and exclusive deals when you use your iPhone or Apple Watch to pay.

“The special lines are much shorter than those for customers paying through conventional means,” reports AppleInsider. “Some stands are also offering exclusive food and drink deals when customers make a purchase with Apple’s payment service.”

Apple Pay fast lane festival
Look out for Apple Pay fast lanes at Celebrate Brooklyn! this week.
Photo: AppleInsider

One beverage booth is said to be handing out free bottles of water with every Apple Pay transaction, while the Bandshell Bites food stall offers three items for $22, saving customers $2.

Some employees are sporting Apple Pay t-shirts to help iPhone and Apple Watch users enjoy the mobile payments service, but it’s not clear if they are Apple employees or event workers who have been trained to support Apple Pay users.

This is the second major U.S. festival this summer, following The Firefly Festival that finished on Sunday, to include Apple Pay fast lanes.

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