This unique mobile network offers a fast, reliable and portable payments solution for events of all sizes, including this year’s Wimbledon Championships.

With the rise of smartphones and their bandwidth-hungry applications, data traffic surges have become a common occurrence and prevent mobile credit and debit card terminals from functioning properly at large-scale events reliant on the major mobile networks. In addition, while there is increasing demand for card payments at events such as festivals and outdoor concerts, terminals are often located in areas with poor mobile network coverage.

For this reason, 123VIP was chosen for the fourth year running by the caterers FMC at this year’s Wimbledon Championships at the All England Club and installed in two of their restaurants. 123VIP supported FMC at the world’s largest annual catering event where an estimated 142,000 portions of English strawberries and 230,000 glasses of Pimm's were sold during the tournament.[1] 123VIP is a chosen payments provider at other major events including the CLA Game Fair and The AEGON Championships at The Queen's Club.

“Taking card payments at events has historically proven problematic due to network congestion and potential black spots,” said Alex Webster, Head of 123Hire Ltd. “123VIP Network is a game changing technology as the dedicated mobile signal eliminates the potential for lack of connectivity and the subsequent loss of business.”

The 123VIP Network can be set up at any event to provide a congestion-free, exclusive network for credit card and debit card transactions. Unlike GPRS networks, where voice calls take priority over data, 123VIP Network is dedicated to card payments ensuring transactions go through quickly and easily, even in the most remote or congested locations.

The network has the capability to process approximately 100 concurrent transactions (dependent on internet speed) per 123VIP mast – replacing the need for 100 separate internet lines or an extremely expensive WiFi installation. There is no compromise in transaction security as all traffic from the terminal is SSL encrypted and is kept updated in line with PCI Data Security Council requirements.

Webster concludes, “We are extremely proud of the service we provide to our customers and always look for new ways to help them accept payments. The new 123VIP Network offers a hassle-free payment system that speeds up the whole process to ensure shorter queues, improved customer service and faster sales with a higher turnover.”