The future of the fan experience

At Visa, Rob Cameron is responsible for steering innovation in payment acceptance in a constantly evolving landscape, in order to make it easy for sellers and their service providers to manage payments — whether online, in person or omnichannel.

The on-site payment fan experience has continued to evolve with consumer habits. Can you give us an overview of the evolution, and what do payments have to do with this?

The experience of being a fan at any venue — whether it’s a concert, a local sporting event or something massive, like the Olympics — has transformed so much in recent years.

Imagine yourself as a fan before your smartphone, before digital payments: You stood in a line at the box office for your tickets or they were mailed to you; you had to bring plenty of cash or risk waiting in lines at the ATM on-site; and you might even have bought a paper transit ticket or transit card to get home.

Now fast forward to today: Digital payments are powering a much more seamless and secure experience for fans — one that helps them waste less time in line and spend more time enjoying the event. The ticket purchase experience is transformed, with digital payments helping combat payment fraud, minimizing downtime while completing the transaction. What’s more, AI is being used to improve the online ticket-purchasing experience through increased authorization rates. At the event venue, digital payments enable you to buy food or merchandise with the simple tap of your smartphone or card, saving time and headache.

Thanks to digital payments, event organizers can focus on putting on an amazing show or game and consumers can spend less time in line and more time enjoying the experience.

What type of payment experience can attendees have on-site at Olympic venues? What does it look like now, and what are some new features? What is Visa's role in bringing this to life?

Visa is proud to be the Worldwide Payment Technology Partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. A custom payment network that Visa has created for Paris 2024 will ensure contactless payments are accepted at 3,500 points of sale across 32 Olympic venues and 16 Paralympic venues.

This year we launched Visa Go, a new mobile application for Visa cardholders visiting the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024. Visa Go offers access to unique experiences and exclusive content, spotlights Team Visa athletes and shares their progress during Paris 2024. The app will also shine a spotlight on small businesses, offering a curated selection of discounts and offers from official partners and local shops and restaurants. Fans can purchase a virtual Visa prepaid card through Visa Go, if needed.

Can you zoom in on a couple of features that might enhance the user experience: line-busting, loyalty and contactless tools?

Loyalty is one area that the industry has scratched the surface on, but when you’re thinking about the ultimate fan experience, it can be evolved even further. Banks and merchants should think about tapping into the loyalty that fans already have — to their team or favorite artist. Smart co-brand programs can help teams and even organizers offer new benefits and experiences. In the future, expect to see more of these programs pop up and even unique, personalized offers or experiences.

Line-busting is another great way to improve the fan experience, and simplifying payments can go a long way to saving time spent in a line. Visa has clients streamlining and securing payments for tickets, merch and concessions into a single, simple platform so that fans don’t have to pay multiple times in multiple ways across the same venue. As a result, guests can pay the way they like, including through contactless and digital wallets on mobile devices, and merchants gain valuable insights into consumer behaviors, making it easier to enhance loyalty programs and offer more of what fans want.

If you had a crystal ball, how do you see on-site/event payment experiences evolving over the next few years?

The years ahead are about building a truly seamless, delightful experience for fans. Imagine showing up to an event and your kid gets handed their favorite player’s jersey as your family gets whisked to seats where cold drinks and hot food are already paid for and waiting. This is what we’re building towards.

The future fan experience is also one where the fan experience extends beyond the event  — with digital collectibles and souvenirs, on social media, in fantasy leagues and fan clubs, at bars and restaurants, and at nearly any of the 130 million merchant locations Visa is connected with around the globe.