Stock of cash in Hungary stands around 5,000 billion forints (EUR 16bn) at present, more than 14% of GDP, well over the 8% average for the European Union as a whole, Hornung said. Cash transactions cost the national economy some 450 billion forints a year, she added

 She noted that the government had recently approved a seven-year strategy to boost Hungarians’ financial savvy. State subsidies are also going to businesses that buy POS terminals which should raise the penetration rate for such devices close to 80%, she added.

Sziget Festival organiser Tamás Kádár said that festival-goers may pay merchants with their MasterCard contactless cards or with a wristband that can be topped up using the festival’s own mobile application.

Topups exceeded 1 billion forints by the festival’s fifth day, he added. Budapest’s Sziget Festival, a weeklong musical extravaganza on an island in the Danube, is expected to draw more than half a million visitors this year. This year’s event officially ended on Wednesday.