Chester Znaps Up First Cashless Racecourse
Chester Races has become the world’s first cashless racecourse, partnering with ZNAP to provide racegoers with a number of services – from ticket purchases to placing a bet – all in one place on their smartphone.
The move is aimed at improving the customer experience at the racecourse by providing customers with a more convenient service and reduced queuing times, while also offering the chance to benefit from offers and rewards.
The first stage, beginning in May, will see ZNAP enable paperless ticketing, food and drink purchases at more than 30 stalls and restaurants around Chester Racecourse.
Later this year, racegoers will also be able to make the same in-app payments when placing a bet with Betfair and Chester Bet, Chester Races’ proprietary betting service, and enjoy benefits from a new loyalty programme.
Emma Blackmore, commercial director, Chester Racecourse, said: ‘Providing a cashless service with ZNAP will make our customer’s experience even more convenient. Cash is costly and cumbersome, as are the traditional payment and booking systems we’ve been using to transact with our customers. We pride ourselves on being a centre for innovation and implementing technology that will make a real difference to our partners and our customers.’
‘ZNAP won’t just make paying, booking and ticketing better, it’ll allow us to deliver a personal experience to our customers both inside Chester Racecourse, and critically, outside of the venue. The result is a win-win for everyone – customers will be better rewarded, brand partners will see much better take up of offers and we hope to have a happier, more engaged and loyal customer.’
‘Our ambition is to establish a loyalty programme that serves both the local community and wider region. We’ll be working with our partners and local business to explore new ways ZNAP can deliver value to their customers.’
Moran Lerner, Executive Vice President, ZNAP, added: ‘We’re delighted Chester has selected ZNAP, offering their customers a quicker way to make payments, access services and benefit from a range of offers all in one place with a few clicks of a smartphone.’
‘Chester Races is one of the most prestigious entertainment venues in the country, one that has a reputation for embracing innovation. It will be the first racecourse in the world that will deliver an omni-commerce experience to its customers using mobile business technology.’
‘Customers can use ZNAP at Chester Races in the coming weeks and by 2015 the course will be using ZNAP to manage everything from loyalty to ticketing. It showcases the breadth of our capabilities, as well as our ability to enable smarter and more efficient ways of doing business.’
