More than half of in-stadium purchases at the 2018 FIFA World Cup are being made via contactless means.
FIFA partner Visa has released an analysis of spending habits during the first five days of the tournament in the 11 Russian host cities.
Visa, which is the exclusive payment service in all stadiums where payment cards are accepted, found that 54 per cent of all payments in stadiums were made by contactless payment technology, including smartphones, bracelets and rings. Around one in five of all transactions made by foreign travellers in the host cities were contactless.
Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium led all venues for total number of payment transactions, where fans spent $2.2m. The opening match between Russia and Saudi Arabia on June 14 – where fans from 123 countries filled the stadium – saw the highest volume of payment transactions.
The June 17 match between Germany and Mexico, also at the Luzhniki Stadium, saw the second highest volume of transactions.
Visa said: “Russian fans made twice the amount of transactions for food and drinks compared to non-Russian fans, however, the average per-transaction amount for non-Russian attendees was 1.5 times higher than Russian purchases in those categories.”
The average in-stadium transaction amount for all matches during the first five days of tournament play was a little over $25.
Ekaterina Petelina, country manager, Visa Russia, said: “Many of the international visitors attending this summer’s tournament have never been to Russia before and we’re excited to be providing them with the ultimate tournament experience, powered by the speed and ease of Visa’s digital payments, which are increasingly happening on contactless cards, devices and wearables.
“In the stadiums particularly, fans are using contactless payment technology to speed through the lines and quickly get back to the action on the pitch.”
Image: Visa
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