Feb. 1, 2019
Seattle Seahawks fan using fingerprint scan from Clear to pay at concession stand
The Super Bowl has long been considered a proving ground for companies to launch products or raise brand awareness with hundreds of millions of viewers glued to their television around the world. However, during this Sunday's game in Atlanta, the National Football League and Visa are turning the venue into a test bed for cashless payment technology on a grand scale that has rarely been seen in the U.S.
The NFL and Visa are showcasing technologies at Mercedes-Benz Stadium here, including tap-to-pay terminals, that give fans the ability to buy food, drinks and merchandise without the need for cash. Visa is making its presence felt with kiosks and two NFL Shops at the Super Bowl Experience at the Georgia World Congress Center.
NY Giants star running back Saquon Barkley and San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle will be on site at the NFL Shop promoting tap to pay technology, by filming digital shorts to be posted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
"Visa's plan to encourage cashless payments during the Super Bowl this year is a big step forward in creating a more frictionless experience for fans," Michael Jasczczyk, CEO of GK Software USA, said in an email. "No one likes to wait in a checkout line, and this is especially true when missing out on a big game."
Thad Peterson, a senior analyst at Aite Group, says the drive for increasing in-stadium mobile commerce is driven by a couple of major considerations, getting fans to get off the couch and instead of watching games on television, get them to buy tickets for live games and need for the technology to meet the demand.
"The first challenge that stadiums faced was providing enough bandwidth within the venue to support thousands of mobile devices and there has been a concerted effort to increase both wifi and mobile bandwidth at stadiums," he told Mobile Payments Today in an email. "The next step was to create a high value app that would provide information about the game, replays, commentary, etc., so that customers would see their phone as an addition of the experience."
Both Visa and NFL executives are banking on a successful expansion as they plan to roll out cashless payments to stadiums across the country over the next year. The move is part of a larger trend toward encouraging mobile technologies, including mobile wallets, smartphone based apps, wearables and biometrics, to be used to get fans parked, seated and ready to buy food, drinks and team merchandise using these new payment methods.
Cash-free ballgame
In late January, the Tampa Bay Rays announced plans to convert their home stadium, Tropicana Field, into the nation's first cash-free sports venue in North America. The transition includes everything from the concessions to the box office, team merchandise outlets and remaining point-of-sale locations.
Technology firm E15, a subsidiary of Levy, a Chicago-based hospitality firm that handles concessions at Tropicana Field, said contactless payment technologies have transformed the fan experience during pilot studies conducted at the stadium and other sports venues across the country.
"Across the board, we are seeing average transaction time cut in half when the shift is made to cash free, allowing fans to get back to their seats and enjoy the game," Jamie Faulkner, president of E15 Group, said in an email. "Lastly, mobile app or contactless POS allow our partners to personalize or customize food and beverage offerings to our fans through additional data insights."
The technologies include a range of contactless payment, kiosks and mobile express/in-seat ordering technologies, according to Faulkner. Fans will be able to pay with Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Rays gift cards or major credit or debit cards. Fans using cash will need to exchange cash for Rays gift cards and then use those cards to make payment.
During the testing period last year, the Rays also converted its most active food hall near the third base line of the stadium to a cash-free zone. The company made several other changes during the test period by deploying kiosks that helped speed the wait times for fans.
"All of that combined had us go from about a 55 percent cash footprint in the building at the start of last year to less than 25 percent cash by the last home stand," said Bill Walsh, vice president strategy and development for the Rays, in a phone interview.
Biometric payments
Clear, the biometric technology company that helped develop technology to speed travelers through airport security, is using that same technology to disrupt the fan experience at major football and baseball stadiums around the country.
Clear launched a pilot program in 2018 that allowed fans of the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park), and the Seahawks at CenturyLink Field, to use fingerprint scans to pay for food and drinks at concession stands and also confirm their age while paying for beer.
It also launched a pilot program with MLB and Tickets.com at Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets to provide biometric ticket entry at the stadium, where fans could tap their finger to get into the stadium, instead of paper or regular mobile tickets, according to a spokesman.
The company has implemented the technology at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, Marlins Park and American Airlines Arena in Miami, Coors Field in Denver and other stadiums and arenas across the country. The plan is to roll out the technology across MLB stadiums this season.
Topics: Card Brands, Contactless / NFC, Mobile Apps, Mobile Payments
Companies: Visa, NFL Enterprises LLC.
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