MasterCard supplying scrip at Woodstock '94.

Woodstock '94, touted to be the concert of the decade, may be a hit with the credit card industry as well.

MasterCard International has been working behind the scenes with the promoters of the event to establish a cashless payment system that can serve some 200,000 potential attendees.

The 1,600 vendors located inside the festival grounds of the 25th-anniversary concert, which takes place 30 miles from the original site, in Saugerties, N.Y., Aug. 12-14, will accept only Woodstock commemorative coins as payment. Concertgoers will be allowed to leave and return to the festival once in three days, and will be barred from bringing food and drink. Attendees will purchase commemorative coins upon entering the impromptu city -- set up with restaurants, a hospital, and even an electric generator -- by using a credit card or cash. But once inside, greenbacks will be useless.

Collectors' Items

"One of things [the promoters] are hoping for with the coins is that people will buy and never use them, because they'll be collectors' items, like unredeemed gift certificates," said Scott Carter, vice president of small-ticket markets for MasterCard.

Only 100 of the vendors, selling high-ticket items, will accept credit cards directly; the other 1,500, spread out over 900 acres and hawking everything from hot dogs to sleeping bags, will accept only Woodstock coins.

The cashless system fulfills a contractual agreement between Woodstock Ventures and Polygram Records, the promoters of the concert, and local officials, said Mr. Caner.

A Free Service

"We came in to help [Woodstock] set up a noncash tender system," said Mr. Carter. He has the unusual task of establishing credit card acceptance systems for carnivals and festivals, a service MasterCard provides free of charge.

MasterCard acted as a consultant for the music festival, though Woodstock '94 will accept other credit cards as well.

The festival planners contracted with C-Net, a division of National Data Corp., Atlanta, to handle card processing.

The cash-free concept was implemented for security purposes. Mr. Carter predicts $30 million to $50 million will change hands during the three-day event.

Getting Its Share

"Our reward is our share of the $30 million or so that would be spent using cash and checks," said Mr. Carter. "Our banks benefit that way."

The tickets are being sold independently through TicketMaster, in groups of four, with one parking pass to encourage car pooling.

Tickets cost $135 for the festivities, which include craft shows, interactive rides and games, an ecovillage, and the musical entertainment. Rock groups such as Arrested Development, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins, Santana, Spin Doctors, Porno for Pyros, as well as Bob Dylan will perform.

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