Up partners with RISING Melbourne with world-first data-led immersive experience

In its third year, Up has joined forces with RISING Melbourne as it returns to celebrate the art of design at the annual festival from 1 June through to 15 June.

Recognised as the presenting partner of the festival’s Night Trade, Up presents Hi—Fi: The Financially Sound System — a life-size manifestation of its in-app financial wellbeing feature. Producing transcendental visuals, the system itself doubles as a DJ booth, featuring live performances from some of Melbourne’s best DJs including Cut Copy, Soju Gang, Harvey Sutherland, 3NDLES5 and more.

Drawing inspiration from gaming and the future of banking, the space is a visual representation of how Up is transforming ordinary financial tasks, such as money management, into interactive and enjoyable experiences with real aggregated customer data and digital art visualisations.

This comes as fresh insights from Up’s Hi—Fi Pulse Report, Australia’s largest ever money survey of Gen Z and Millenials, reveals over a third (35%) of young Australians struggle to cover a night out, however, they continue to remain optimistic with more than half (54%) feeling like things are getting better.

The Hi—Fi Score combines individuals responses to the survey to reflect on different facets of their financial wellness to give Aussies a number they can track against each quarter. Of the over 85,000 polled, the majority of respondents cited that “overspending on the good life”, including going out and shopping, was preventing them from going further with their money this quarter.

Up’s Head of Design Pete Johnson says, “It’s been great collaborating with premium activation production agency Boom Studios to bring our Hi—Fi system to life. Our world-first installation intersects art and money while choreographing real banking data and sounds from Melbourne's finest DJs.”

“We originally created our Hi—Fi system to make money easy for young Aussies, flipping the script on a tedious task, such as savings and money management, and turning it into a fun activity for them to enjoy. With over 850,000 young Aussies using Up, we wanted to create an experience that we know our customers would love, merging the chaos of money management into a feeling of wellness with the modern sounds of Melbourne.”

To keep the good vibes going throughout the festival, Up will be teeing up hidden gigs within the historic arcade in partnership Triple R and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

A merch vending machine situated around Melbourne’s renowned live music venue, Max Watt’s, will offer branded beanies with extra perks for Upsiders. And if you’re unable to attend? There will be a feed of headliner sets on our socials, so no one needs to miss out.

For more information on Hi—Fi, head to up.com.au/hi-fi.