Case Study

Indy Pride 2025 By Forty5

Billfold Successfully Powers Indy Pride For Its First Year

Large crowd enjoying a live concert at the Indy Pride main stage during the evening celebration
“Usually we are only getting calls from our bartenders about our Point of Sale needing support and this year the channel was silent as we only had one call the whole event because someone unplugged a device to charge their phone.”
Cole Sears Head of Finance and Administration at Forty5 Indy

For Indy Pride 2025, Billfold POS is proud to team up with Fourty5 to power seamless point-of-sale operations across their festival. As one of the Midwest’s largest and most dynamic Pride celebrations - complete with live music, performances, and community activations, Indy Pride requires a payment system built to handle high-volume crowds without compromising speed or security for the festival's packed 2-day timeline. Nonetheless, Billfold’s cashless solutions enabled festival-goers to tap and go with ease, eliminating long lines, and reducing transaction friction for vendors. This partnership not only supports the operational needs of a large-scale music and cultural event but also enhances the overall guest experience. Ultimately giving attendees more time to connect, celebrate, and enjoy the energy of Pride which is what it’s all about. By streamlining sales and improving revenue tracking, Billfold empowers events like Indy Pride and all Pride events to stay focused on what matters most: creating inclusive, joyful, and impactful spaces for the LGBTQ+ community every year.

Client Overview: Indy Pride - Forty5

Objective - Billfold POS

To enhance transactional efficiency, vendor sales, operations & efficiency, and attendee experience by scaling Billfold POS infrastructure across festivals taking place during Pride Month. During the month of June - when multiple Pride festivals draw large crowds across the country - organizers are turning to Billfold for reliable, glitch-free operations. This year's June spread of Pride festivals who partnered with Billfold included: Utah Pride, Indy Pride, and Heritage Pride NYC. With cashless options (like credit cards and Apple Pay), reduced queue times, and centralized reporting for both vendors and festival producers - Billfold delivers a seamless experience that drives sales and simplifies event management. The result: smoother operations, happier guests, and a successful Pride Month for every partner involved.

System Performance & Support

Billfold POS maintained 100% uptime throughout the two-day event - even under peak transaction periods. The on-site support team ensured a proactive response to technical issues with pre-event deployment for revenue centers: bar, food, merchandise, and box office over the two days.

Total Number Of POS Terminals Deployed at Indy Pride

“Sonny (Head Billfold On-site Operations Manager), your ability to see areas on the dashboard and the preparation - just the amount of devices you brought. All those things, we do a lot of events and so do you guys as well - so many vendors and operators bring the bare minimum. I was blown away to see 700 pounds of equipment here, and I'm doing the math in my head like, “how heavy are these POS’s?” It's because you brought so much equipment and were prepared.”
Cole Sears Head of Finance and Administration at Forty5 Indy

The operational benefits of running Billfold POS at a large scale music festival:

No Wifi? No problem!

One of the standout features that makes Billfold POS ideal for large-scale Pride events is its ability to operate seamlessly offline even in environments with unreliable or overloaded WiFi. Festivals like Pride often take place in open-air venues or urban areas where thousands of attendees strain local networks, causing traditional systems to lag or crash. Billfold’s offline mode ensures that transactions can still be processed without interruption, keeping lines moving, bars serving, and vendors selling. This reliability gives organizers peace of mind and prevents lost revenue during peak hours, proving critical in high-traffic moments when every second to every sale counts.

Site map of Indy Pride Festival 2025 showing entrances, stage, lounges, food court, bars, vendor areas, cabanas, and accessibility zones

Ad Space You Maybe Never Thought Of

Billfold POS’s on-screen ads offer a powerful sponsorship advertising opportunity at Pride events, not only do they provide real-time, high-visibility advertising to attendees during transactions, but they also unlock a valuable revenue stream by creating space for third-party sponsors. For event organizers, this means the ability to monetize key moments of engagement without disrupting the attendee experience. For sponsors, it’s a rare opportunity to connect with a targeted, energized audience directly at the point of purchase. And for Billfold POS, it reinforces the platform’s role not just as a transaction tool, but as a dynamic marketing channel that adds value to the entire festival ecosystem, boosting exposure, increasing sponsorship appeal, and driving measurable ROI for everyone involved.

Devices are set with a dual screen, so the customer can see the ads on two-thirds of the screen while the last third shows their order & total, while the bartender, salesman, etc controls the order on their side of the screen. The dual screen capability creates a more engaging and transparent transaction experience by allowing attendees to track their purchases in real-time while providing space for this event branding, upsells, and sponsor messaging.

Cards, Cash, Apple Pay, RFID - It All Works

One of the key reasons Billfold POS is the trusted payment system at these large-scale celebrations is its seamless ability to support every major payment method: RFID wristbands, credit/debit cards, Apple Pay, and even cash.

In 2024, over 70% of transactions at Pride events ran through contactless options like RFID and Apple Pay - a stat that reflects the growing demand for transaction speed, simple outcomes and overall transaction safety. Meanwhile, accepting traditional card and cash options ensured no one was excluded from participating, especially older guests or local vendors not yet fully cashless.

This unified payment flexibility is now the industry standard. Events looking to keep lines moving, boost their sales, and serve every type of guest know that limiting payment options just doesn’t cut it anymore. By offering more flexible ways to pay: like tap & go, swipe, or wristband - Billfold was there to help Pride festivals create a smooth and inclusive experience. One that reflected the spirit of the community while keeping operations running at full speed all festival long.

POS Built to Handle the Rush

Billfold POS is engineered specifically for the high-volume demands of large-scale events, making it the perfect fit for busy, high-traffic festival days like Pride. Its infrastructure is built to process thousands of simultaneous transactions without lag - thanks to a combination of robust hardware, an optimized backend system, and offline capabilities that ensure uninterrupted service even under pressure. While other systems may crash or slow down during peak usage, Billfold is stress-tested for scalability, ensuring smooth, fast, and secure payments. This reliability not just keeps lines moving and attendees happy, it also maximizes revenue potential by eliminating bottlenecks at the point of sale.

Two attendees smiling at Indy Pride festival, where Billfold POS powers seamless cashless payments.

Some of the events supported by Billfold this past June:

Indy Pride, Utah Pride Center, NYC Pride logotypes

Reporting Heading Into Next Year

Billfold POS uniquely powers cashless payments, RFID experiences, and fan engagement across large-scale live events - while embracing the inclusive, community-driven spirit of Pride. 🌈 Recommendations for 2026 Pride Events Powered by Billfold look like:

Pride Org Priorities
How Billfold Solves
Shorter lines
RFID wristbands + refill stations
Higher sponsorship ROI
Dual-screen branded ads
More inclusive vendors
Real-time dashboards, simple onboarding
Community impact
Round-up donations + data visibility
Easy, safe spending
Cashless, introduction of RFID to some events with wristband-secure system

Billfold plays a behind-the-scenes role in making Pride events run smoothly. As Pride continues to grow in scale now and in the future, Billfold’s systems remain committed to empowering these events with tools that reflect the same values of: inclusion, efficiency, and celebration within the event space.

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