What NOQ does

NOQ (legal entity NOQ Events, DBA NOQ Group) is a London-based software company that provides an end-to-end point-of-sale, payments, and operational management platform purpose-built for live events and festivals. Founded in 2017 by Param Kanabar and Andrea Diaferio after a 40-minute queue experience at Rock in Rio, the company initially launched a mobile ordering app before pivoting in 2020 toward a broader financial operations platform addressing multi-vendor management, automated revenue sharing, and real-time data visibility for event operators.

The core platform is a cloud-based, offline-first POS and payments infrastructure with integrated payment processing via Adyen, achieving sub-3.5-second transaction speeds, multi-network connectivity to handle remote festival environments, sub-5-minute vendor onboarding with KYC, real-time split payments with tiered revenue sharing, and an analytics layer exposed through a mobile NOQ Insights app and Power BI integration. The product suite comprises five modules: an Event Management Platform (central hub), POS & Payments System, Operations Backend, Data Platform (voucher/promotion management), and the NOQ Insights mobile app.

NOQ serves a primarily UK-based customer base across four verticals — music festivals, sport events, food events, and cultural events — with named enterprise clients including Charlton Athletic Football Club, SailGP, UCI Cycling Championships, Fabric, and Secret Garden Party, alongside a long tail of mid-market and SMB vendors. Revenue is generated through subscription/recurring fees (tiered by event size), transaction processing fees, hardware sales/lease, and professional services including on-site support. The company has raised approximately £4.5M+ across multiple funding rounds, with a £3.4M round in September 2024 earmarked for international expansion; the platform currently processes £150M+ in gross sales and 15M+ transactions across 8 countries.

Name

NOQ

Legal name

NOQ Events

Website

https://noqgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NOQ is a London-based event-centric POS, payments, and operational management platform serving music festivals, sports events, food events, and cultural events. Its offline-first, integrated system processes £150M+ in gross sales across 8 countries, supporting multi-vendor management and real-time analytics.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Event Management Software

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated POS Payments (ISVs & Vertical POS Platforms) (FSAMADAD)

Keywords

• Event POS software
• Festival payment processing
• Multi-vendor management
• Mobile point of sale
• Offline payment terminals

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Operations

Revenue model

1. POS & Payments Platform Subscription: SaaS-style recurring revenue from providing event-centric POS and payments platform to event operators. Pricing is flexible based on event size and nature.
2. Transaction Processing Fees: Revenue generated from processing payments through the integrated POS and payments system. Supports offline transactions that sync when connectivity is restored.
3. Hardware Sales/Lease: Provision of POS terminals and hardware devices to event vendors and operators. Integration with Adyen for hardware solutions.
4. Professional Services & Support: On-site support, training, and implementation services for event setup. End-to-end onboarding and on-site support included in service delivery.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

NOQ provides an end-to-end event-centric POS and payments platform that centralises point of sale, payment processing, multi-vendor management, and real-time data insights for live events. The platform is built specifically for festivals, sports events, food events, and cultural events, offering offline-first transaction processing with 3.5-second speeds, automated revenue sharing, vendor onboarding with KYC, and mobile analytics.

Product overview

NOQ is a single unified platform for event operators, combining a POS and payments system with vendor management tools and real-time analytics. The core offering includes the Event Management Platform (central hub), POS & Payments System (transaction processing), Operations Backend (financial management), Data Platform (insights and promotions), and NOQ Insights App (mobile analytics). The platform serves music festivals, sport events, food events, and cultural events verticals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NOQ Event Management Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• 3.5-second transaction speed achieved (previously 40-minute queue at Rock in Rio inspired founding)
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• SearcecoreTechnology or IntegrationSearce is a cloud computing and AI specialist providing development resources for NOQ's technology ecosystem. With access to over 2,100 product developers, Searce enables continuous adaptation and innovation to meet evolving client needs.
• OBSScoreTechnology or IntegrationOBSS is a technology partner specialising in cloud computing, AI, and data analytics for NOQ's platform development.
• AdyencoreTechnology or IntegrationAdyen provides best-in-class hardware solutions and reliable payment experiences for NOQ. Nicole Olbe, Managing Director, Adyen UK states the partnership helps NOQ scale across multiple markets including the US with tailored solutions supporting rapid growth. Strategic alliance for global payment processing.
• SHOPLINEsupportingTechnology or IntegrationSHOPLINE partnership helps merchants provide powerful customer experiences. David Meakin, Head of Partnerships & Solution Engineering at SHOPLINE, notes NOQ's commitment to innovation and exceptional service has significantly impacted their business.
• Urban PipersupportingTechnology or IntegrationUrban Piper integration partner for food delivery and restaurant operations within NOQ's technology ecosystem.
• STARsupportingTechnology or IntegrationSTAR integration partner within NOQ's technology ecosystem for comprehensive platform functionality.
• Power BIsupportingTechnology or IntegrationPower BI integration for advanced analytics and business intelligence capabilities within the NOQ Insights platform.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Tonic: Tonic provides event and festival POS, payments, and cashless solutions for live events — a directly comparable vertical POS platform serving festivals, sports, and stadia with similar multi-vendor and cashless functionality.

Broad incumbents

• Block (Square): Square is a broad POS and payments incumbent used by SMBs including event vendors, food stalls, and pop-ups. It competes with NOQ in the lower-end vendor tier and could move upmarket into dedicated event POS.
• Toast: Toast is a leading restaurant and hospitality POS platform in North America with growing event and venue capabilities. It competes with NOQ for food-event and bar-operator deployments and has materially larger scale and capital.
• SumUp: SumUp provides mobile card readers and POS for SMBs across Europe, including event vendors and food traders. It overlaps with NOQ's SMB vendor tier and benefits from bundled payments economics.
• Zettle (PayPal): PayPal-owned Zettle offers mobile POS and card readers widely adopted by small vendors and event traders in Europe. It competes in the same SMB and vendor segments as NOQ with the backing of PayPal's payments stack.
• Lightspeed Commerce: Lightspeed provides cloud POS for retail, hospitality, and golf/sporting venues. It serves some of the same sports and hospitality verticals as NOQ and represents a credible incumbent threat at the mid-market tier.
• Clover (Fiserv): Clover is a POS and business management platform owned by Fiserv, used across restaurants, retail, and services. Its app marketplace and hardware flexibility allow it to address event-adjacent use cases similar to NOQ's vendor base.

Others

• Eventbrite: Eventbrite is a leading event discovery and ticketing platform. It is adjacent rather than directly competitive — NOQ handles on-site transactions while Eventbrite handles ticketing — but both serve the same event-organizer buyer and increasingly converge around event commerce.
• Adyen: Adyen is NOQ's strategic payments and hardware partner rather than a competitor. It is included because its payments stack underpins NOQ's offering and its competitive moves in vertical POS could directly affect NOQ's economics and roadmap.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/noqgroupuk
• Facebookfacebook.com/noqgroup

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NOQ