As we move towards a cashless society, Sam Wollaston finds that buskers are increasingly going contactless.
It is a crisp, blustery, autumn afternoon on the South Bank in London. Charlotte Campbell stands with her back to the river playing an acoustic guitar and singing Leonard Cohen’s song Hallelujah, a buskers’ favourite. “Now I’ve heard there was a secret chord, That David played, and it pleased the Lord, But you don’t really care for music, do you?”
People stop, watch a while, film Campbell on their phones, or mouth along. “It goes like this: The fourth, the fifth, The minor fall and the major lift, The baffled king composing Hallelujah …” Some drop coins into her guitar case, or send their kids to do so. Pound coins, silver ones, or just a few coppers.
Campbell is definitely a busker for the 21st century. She has cards, with information on how to find her on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And as well as the guitar case for coins, she also has something that might make you look twice – a contactless card reader. Because hardly anyone uses cash any more – just like the Queen. (Even two years ago, a survey found that the average Briton carried less than £5 on them.) No cash? No problem; tap Campbell’s card reader, to give a quid...Keep reading on The Guardian
It is a crisp, blustery, autumn afternoon on the South Bank in London. Charlotte Campbell stands with her back to the river playing an acoustic guitar and singing Leonard Cohen’s song Hallelujah, a buskers’ favourite. “Now I’ve heard there was a secret chord, That David played, and it pleased the Lord, But you don’t really care for music, do you?”
People stop, watch a while, film Campbell on their phones, or mouth along. “It goes like this: The fourth, the fifth, The minor fall and the major lift, The baffled king composing Hallelujah …” Some drop coins into her guitar case, or send their kids to do so. Pound coins, silver ones, or just a few coppers.
Campbell is definitely a busker for the 21st century. She has cards, with information on how to find her on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And as well as the guitar case for coins, she also has something that might make you look twice – a contactless card reader. Because hardly anyone uses cash any more – just like the Queen. (Even two years ago, a survey found that the average Briton carried less than £5 on them.) No cash? No problem; tap Campbell’s card reader, to give a quid...Keep reading on The Guardian