London is a city that leads the world in many ways. A global destination and financial powerhouse, the English capital really is a city to be reckoned with. Others might say that the concentration of the world’s wealth in a single municipal area has created a city so expensive that ordinary people are being hounded out by bloodthirsty developers with money on their mind. In such an environment the humble busker can help soothe the worries of the overworked population, yet they too have extortionate rents to pay. What can they do, how can they live? In another world first for London, cockney buskers have come up with a rather novel, if not a little cheeky way of making ends meet.
“Now, more Londoners will be able to show their support to the capital’s brilliant, talented street performers,” London Mayor, Sadiq Khan
This new initiative, that has sparked celebration in London Town Hall, is contactless payments for buskers. You know that the main reason you never give money to buskers is because you never have any change 😜. Never again will you be plagued by such misfortune. A simple tap will hand over a pre-determined amount of your hard earned cash to the plucky busker playing Wonderwall.
Buskers in London have started asking for 2 pounds a tap and it seems the new system has really helped boost their takings. One busker reported it having, “a significant impact on contributions.”
This new initiative is powered by iZettle, a Swedish tech that was recently bought by PayPal. They’ve provided London organization Busk with card readers, which plug into smartphones. After a successful trial, Busk says the card readers distributed all over the British capital.
Is it time to dig out your old guitar and hit the streets?
