By
Temitope Olatunji
March 27th, 2024
Visa and the NFL plan to turn the Super Bowl cashless after announcing an extension of their partnership agreement to 2025. Within that period, Visa expects to introduce a cashless future to the NFL events.
The National Football League (NFL) and Visa have been partners since 1995. The two partners announced the extension of their collaborations up to 2025. Amidst their major business is the Super Bowl that they target to make cashless one day in the near future. The announcement was made by Visa in a release.
Visa will continue to operate as the NFL’s certified payment services technology partner. Thus, the Visa cardholders will enjoy special benefits as part of the deal. Lynne Biggar, the CMO for Visa said:
“Over the years, we have transformed our relationship with the National Football League from a sponsorship to a partnership that offers invaluable payment experiences for fans.”
Biggar also added that:
“Looking ahead, we see a cashless future for the NFL fans where events, including future Super Bowls, are digital, resulting in a more secure and seamless payment environment for fans and concessionaires alike.”
The Cashless Future
For the past 24 years, Visa has offered top-notch payment technology to augment the fan experience at most NFL events. Fans in-stadium, online, and at home can attest to the seamless services they get from Visa. The new terms of the agreement aim to take the payment experiences that NFL fans enjoy to the next level.
The announcement by Visa featured many finer details of a contract extended up to 2025. The new agreement features extra benefits for the Visa cardholders. Visa becomes the recognized official payment provider across all NFL events domestically and international games. They will cater to the Pro Bowl, Super Bowl, and NFL Draft.
The payment service provider also will become the preferred method of payment for ticket sales. Moreover, it becomes the official payment method for concessions and merchandise sold at the NFL Shops and global league events. The NFL and Visa will work together relentlessly to offer a cashless future for NFL events, including the Super Bowl.
More than a quarter of the American population is already cashless. That is what prompted the NFL and Visa to work together to deliver the same experience to future Super Bowls. A Super Bowl that accepts only digital payments and cards will let attendees pay their way using mobile or wearable devices and cards.
This form of payment will enable attendees to quickly get back to their seats and enjoy the action on the pitch. In conjunction to that, the Senior Vice President, Partnerships, Sponsorship & Consumer Products for the NFL, Renie Anderson, stated that:
“Visa has been a trusted partner of the NFL since 1995 and we are thrilled to continue our work with them, particularly in the area of implementing cashless capabilities at NFL tournaments and events which will offer all our fans faster, safer and more convenient digital payment alternatives”
Super Bowl LIII
This event will mark the new beginning. To launch the efforts, Super Bowl LIII will provide at least 30 cashless concessionaires all over the stadium. Attendees will get the chance to tap into new payment experiences with Visa increasing its presence at most of the NFL Shops.
The shops leading up to and during the game will offer the cashless payment option for the game. The two NFL Shops at the Super Bowl Experience located within the Georgia World Congress Center are included. Also, NFL Shop kiosks in the stadium will also offer the cashless payment options.
Visa is upgrading the NFL Shop’s checkout by enabling an MVP checkout lane. In this lane, customers tap to pay using contactless enabled devices to get out and in quickly. The company will also host on-site activities including an interactive augmented reality demo experience.
In that demo, fans can simulate checkout by effectively kicking all their items through virtual goalposts. Some of the NFL star athletes will promote Visa’s NFL season commercial campaign.