Finance

Cryptocurrency accepted at Adelaide Oval following latest partnership

AFL fans can now pay with cryptocurrency at Adelaide Oval.

Featured image credit: Adelaide Crows

Fans are now able to purchase food and drinks using cryptocurrency at Adelaide Oval following an agreement between the venue, its Australian Football League (AFL) tenants the Adelaide Crows, and Crypto.com.

Supported by financial systems software DataMesh, which is providing the payment technology and terminals, the integration marks a world first at this scale.

The services were in place and available for fans in time for the AFL fixture yesterday, which saw the Crows lose to Melbourne Demons 78-63, and will be utilised for the rest of the 2024 season.

The first 1000 transactions made received A$10 (£5/$6.50/€6).

“Australians continue to adopt cryptocurrency at a rapid rate and as a company we are constantly innovating to find new ways for people to use crypto in the real world,” said Crypto.com general manager for Asia-Pacific Karl Mohan.

“The payment technology we’re introducing at Adelaide Oval is not only user-friendly for both the merchant and customer but also extremely scalable and we see a lot of promise for future integrations like this.

“As a major sponsor of the Adelaide Crows and the AFL, it is exciting to launch this trial during one of the biggest and busiest rounds of the season, and we’re delighted to be able to provide an easy new payment method to thousands of fans.”

For customers who want to pay in cryptocurrency, Crypto.com is selected as the preferred payment method at the time of checkout.

This generates a dynamic QR code on the merchant terminal which the customer then scans with their Crypto.com app before authorising the payment.

“We are always looking for ways to collaborate with our partners to deliver new initiatives, such as this one, to our members and fans,” Adelaide Crows chief executive Tim Silvers said.

“Whether it’s membership offerings or in this case purchasing food and beverage on game day, we also want to give our supporters the opportunity to choose what best suits them.”

The technology is also set to be in place for concert-goers who attend live music events at the Adelaide Oval.