Bilbao's Aste Nagusia festival to accept cash only

The Bilboko Konpartsak, an organization representing 27 festival groups, has decided to accept only cash payments at the Aste Nagusia festival in Bilbao this year. The group will not support card payments or Bizum transfers.

Iker Martín, representing the entity, stated that the decision stems from fears regarding network congestion. The group argues that the high concentration of people during peak times could saturate telecommunications networks, potentially disabling electronic payment systems. They expressed concern that if the network were to collapse, they would be forced to close their stalls, a risk they cannot afford given the volunteer-based nature of their operations.

Critics suggest the technological excuse is difficult to sustain, noting that professional event infrastructure typically utilizes redundant connections, such as 4G/5G mobile terminals, multiple SIM cards, or dedicated WiFi networks to prevent outages. Additionally, many modern point-of-sale systems support offline modes that allow transactions to be processed once connectivity is restored. The move comes as the festival groups recently joined the Batuz system of the Bizkaia Provincial Treasury, which aims to register all sales through TicketBAI.