We interviewed Fatih Kahyaoglu, Head of Partnerships at SAIL Amsterdam, and asked him about this historical event in general and the collaboration with Twelve in particular. We’ve supplemented Fatih’s experiences with commentary from the Twelve team and its partners, Adyen and Moneycomb.

A unique maritime event of considerable proportions

Once every five years, Amsterdam changes into the vibrant backdrop for SAIL: tens of ships from over thirty countries and several million enthusiastic visitors flood into the city. Over the span of five days, the city transforms into a hub of unique meetings, events, and lively bustle.

For the organization, this means there are peak moments impossible to compare to those of any other public event. Fatih explains: “SAIL is unique because it’s free and accessible to anyone. Some people just drop by for a day to watch the ships, but there are official receptions and hundreds of caterers operating at the same time. This makes SAIL an incredibly complex event.”

Thousands of volunteers, hundreds of points of sale

During this edition, around 2400 volunteers supported the event, half of whom immediately had to start working with Twelve’s payment terminals. 

Most of them were temporary employees, who didn’t get any prior training with the system. According to Kahyaoglu, this wasn’t a problem whatsoever: “Twelve’s payment systems are so incredibly intuitive to use, literally anybody can operate them. We had twenty-year-olds using the machines, but at the same time, eighty-year-olds could use them just as easily. It’s quite a sight to behold.”

Apart from the volunteers, the sheer number and diversity of points of sale led to further challenges. From big catering areas to small stands on pontoons and in the harbors: everywhere, the same consistency, speed, and reliability needed to be delivered.

Twelve CEO and Founder, Willem van Kralingen, explains: “We were dealing with hundreds of caterers, spread throughout the city. From a small bar on a floating pontoon, to a huge food court with dozens of beer taps. But because all of these locations were running our POS and payment terminals, SAIL got real-time insight into revenue streams, helping them see where adjustments were needed.” 

The power of Twelve’s complete partner ecosystem

The SAIL operation required very close collaboration. Twelve has been working with SAIL for over sixteen years, but for this edition, the team expanded to include Twelve’s partners, Adyen and Moneycomb. 

‍Adyen provided the payment backbone. Joëlle Bønding, VP Vertical Strategy at Adyen, explains: “What makes this event so special is the scale of it. Millions of visitors and transactions, all in five days. You’ll want to make sure that payments aren’t just processed quickly, but also reliably, even when there’s a temporary internet outage somewhere. We make sure that the infrastructure is prepared for this.”

Moneycomb was involved in the operational execution. Managing Director Olav Fontijn experienced up close how smoothly everything unfolded: “We were working with over 300 payment terminals throughout the city. From the Java quay to the NDSM wharf and from floating pontoons to VIP decks. Everything had to operate in unison. Thanks to the collaboration with Twelve, we were able to organize this the right way. Despite how busy it was, you could see the machines kept up and the volunteers were able to do their work stress-free.”

Smooth sailing, even during busy peak moments

The real test occurred during what’s known as the Sail-In Parade, when dozens of tall ships sail into Amsterdam at the same time, and hundreds of thousands of people gather along the IJ river. Around dinner time, the pressure rose even more.

Van Kralingen recounts: “Those were the moments in which the payment system was truly put to the test. Thousands of people trying to order at the same time, volunteers whose first-ever shift started an hour ago, facing long lines. The fact that things still went smoothly, that’s exactly what Twelve was designed to facilitate.”  

Kahyaoglu also remembers how quickly volunteers figured things out: “You see people walk in and literally understand how to work with the payment terminal in under a minute. That brings a lot of calm to the operation, because it prevents long lines and frustration. It ensures that everyone can focus on the visitor’s experience.”

Clear seas for this historic event, facilitated by Twelve

The impact of the collaboration was clearly visible. Visitors could order and pay easily all throughout the city. The organization got real-time insights into revenue streams, which made post-event evaluations and remittances a lot easier, too. And all volunteers could fully focus on what they were there for, without having to worry about complicated payment systems.

But for Twelve, collaborating with SAIL also had an additional special meaning. Van Kralingen proudly reflects: “SAIL might just be one of the biggest events in the Netherlands. It means a lot to us, specifically, because our collaboration with SAIL was one of our first forays into the events industry. Being able, together with our partners, to facilitate an event of this scale, without any incidents, shows what we’re truly capable of.”   

With millions of visitors, thousands of volunteers and hundreds of points of sale, SAIL would have been the ultimate test for any payment system provider. But thanks to the collaboration between Twelve, Adyen and Moneycomb, everyone could make payments without any trouble, even on the busiest of moments.  

SAIL proved that simplicity and cooperation are key when it comes to ensuring the biggest events run smoothly. Interested in Twelve’s POS and payment terminals? Get in touch and schedule a free demo with our team.