Discover how CardsSafe helps museums, galleries and cultural centres to protect audio and visual guides.
There are over 2,500 museums and 1000 commercial galleries in the UK, ranging from your typical village museum to the British Museum and V&A in London. The UK is also home to many well-respected and world-famous art galleries, which welcome thousands of visitors annually. The Government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport reported 9.6 million visits to UK museums and galleries in 2023. Many medium to large museums and galleries offer an audio guide service, which provides a more engaging experience for the visitor, but it means increased costs and liability as some visitors may like the audio guide so much they decide to keep it as a souvenir!
How to stop your audio guides from being lost or broken
As technology advances, it’s become common to see costly devices used as audio guides. Many of these devices are smartphone-based solutions that are used as they offer good quality displays, battery life, and the ability to run complex applications that allow visitors to navigate around the museum or gallery. The CardsSafe system is utilised by Hampton Court Palace, Bletchley Park, The National Portrait Gallery and other businesses to mitigate this risk. When using CardsSafe, you retain a customer debit or credit card in exchange for a unique key, which the user will use to collect their card when they leave. It’s simple, cost-effective and PCI-compliant.
Proof that CardsSafe can help galleries and museums reduce losses
CardsSafe has been a successful deterrent in preventing the loss or damage of high-value audio equipment at The National Portrait Gallery.
The National Portrait Gallery is an internationally renowned gallery that houses portraits of notable British men and women. It opened its doors in 1856 and welcomed over one million visitors yearly.
The CardsSafe system was first installed at The National Portrait Gallery in 2011 and protects its audio guide system. It has proven to be a successful deterrent in preventing the loss or damage of the gallery’s high-value audio equipment during the 1m+ annual visits. The gallery offers many self-guided tours of its extensive and evolving portrait collections. CardsSafe has successfully prevented the loss or damage of its high-value audio equipment, while its visitors have the freedom to roam.
“The National Portrait Gallery has used Cardssafe for the security of its audio guide hire system to guarantee these consumer-grade, high-value IT items against loss or theft. It has always been a successful deterrent, and it has been a pleasure to work with the helpful and efficient team in the Cardssafe administration centre on supply and billing.”
Andrea, Manager TNPG
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Member-created content 6 months ago | From members