Baseball fans will get a cashless payment experience when they re-enter Petco Park this season
- Baseball fans will have a cashless experience when they re-enter San Diego Padres' Petco Park next season.
- The team signed a partnership with Tappit to enable fans to make transactions through the MLB Ballpark app at the stadium.
San Diego Padre fans will get a cashless payment experience when they re-enter Petco Park for this year's baseball season.
They will be able to make purchases directly through their phones on the team’s MLB Ballpark app. Fans will also be able to link their preferred payment method to the app to pay at concession and merchandise stands at the stadium.
Last week, the major league baseball team announced a multi-year partnership with event and venue based payment ecosystem Tappit in the creation of the cashless payment solution called Padres Pay.
“As we prepare for the 2021 baseball season, our priority is the health and safety of our fans and employees. We believe that through Padres Pay, we’re one step closer to safely welcoming Padres fans back home to Petco Park while minimizing person-to-person contact,” said Padres CEO, Erik Greupner.
Padres Pay also links directly to the team’s Compadres Rewards loyalty account, allowing fans access to personalized vouchers and incentives through their mobile wallet.
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“From our partnerships with Kansas City Chiefs and the Jacksonville Jaguars this season, we have seen strong adoption of our cashless solutions across all demographics, which has been a real testament to the user experience of our digital wallet,” said Tappit’s CEO, Jason Thomas.
“Furthermore we know that the better teams understand their fans, the more targeted the incentives and communication can be -- creating a mutually beneficial solution that works for organizations and fans alike.”
In addition to its payments capabilities, Tappit supports a data ecosystem to help event organizations gain real time data such as customer behavior and spending patterns, concession performance and best-selling products.
“Closed-loop cashless technology like ours that can integrate with any existing venue infrastructure also puts the power of data into the hands of these teams,” said Thomas.
According to a study by Performance Research, 63 percent of fans have increased event health safety concerns, 66 percent are more worried about venue hygiene and 66 percent expect wide scale changes in the way they attend events. Large scale event organizers need to adapt their venues by observing hygiene protocols and safety measures that can reassure fans into returning.
In November of last year the NFL announced its partnership with Visa to fast-track a cashless Super Bowl experience. The move was initially planned for 2024 but was implemented at this year’s Super Bowl.
Usage of contactless payments has increased since the start of the pandemic due to high demand for cleaner and safer payment processes. Since March 2019, the overall use of contactless payments in the U.S has increased by 150 percent.
“Contactless payments have exploded over the past year, and the global pandemic has played a role in the sharp increase in usage as consumers look for safer ways to pay for everyday essentials,” said Suresh Palliparambil, CEO of wearable contactless payment bracelet, Purewrist.
“According to the National Retail Federation, in the U.S. alone, no-touch payments have increased by 69 percent since January. Of those currently using contactless, 57 percent of participants said they’ll continue to do so beyond the pandemic.”