Visa uses Fifa Confederations Cup sponsorship to showcase latest payment technologies
Top-tier Fifa partner Visa will use its sponsorship of the upcoming Confederations Cup to showcase its latest payment technologies, including the broader roll-out of its payment ring.
Visa will make its payment rings available to "select customers and Alfa-Bank guests"
The enhanced payment experiences will be available at stadiums throughout Russia where the tournament takes place between 17 June to 2 July.
Visa will implement 1,600 point-of-sale terminals and deploy 120 mobile concessionaires throughout the stadium concourses, offering fans multiple ways to make cash-free purchases.
As part of a collaboration with Russia-based Alfa-Bank, fans will be able to use prepaid cards which can be reloaded at contactless Alfa-Bank ATMs throughout the stadiums.
Visa will also allow select customers and Alfa-Bank guests to make purchases using its payment ring which is attached to a prepaid card. The technology, which was first tested with athletes at the Rio Olympics in 2016, features a microchip and NFC-enabled antenna that can make purchases by holding the right near contactless payment readers.
“As the official payment service partner of the Fifa Confederations Cup 2017, we are thrilled to bring fans some of the most innovative payment experiences from around the world, enabling them to go cashless at the tournament,” said Ekaterina Petelina, country manager of Visa Russia.
Visa was one of the lead sponsors who criticised the governing body in the wake of the corruption scandal which came to a head in 2015. The brand threatened to exit its sponsorship agreement altogether and described its "disappointment" with Fifa as "profound".