Visa introduces a new, advanced payment system at the Rio 2016 Olympics, celebrating 30 years of partnership with the Olympic and Paralympic movements. The Visa Team at Rio includes refugee athletes competing under the Olympic flag.

Payment rings and watches

Payment rings and watches

Visa debuts the most technologically advanced payment system ever at the Olympic Games. Thanks to 4,000 contactless payment terminals installed across Olympic venues in Rio 2016, fans and athletes can use several new payment solutions, including:

  • Visa Payment Ring: Given to each of the 60 Team Visa members competing in the Olympics. The Visa Ring is the first wearable technology solution operating passively in NFC standard and using tokenization services.
  • Pulseira Bradesco Payment Wristband: Developed by Visa in partnership with Brazilian bank Bradesco, this adjustable, sweat- and water-resistant band can be used at all Olympic venues. A total of 3,000 selected fans, staff, and spectators will receive the wristbands.
  • Great Britain Olympic Team Payment Wristband: Created by Visa, the British Olympic team, and Barclaycard, these wristbands were given to all Team GB athletes. The wristband works with the bPay mobile payment system and allows payments at 4,000 terminals across Olympic venues and at all contactless terminals worldwide.
  • Swatch Bellamy Watch: Visa, in collaboration with Swatch, developed the world’s first watch with contactless payment functionality. Available to consumers in Brazil, it can be purchased at Rio 2016 Olympic retail points.

Visa in the heart of athletes

Visa, in collaboration with Saatchi & Saatchi (London), created a short film illustrating the role the company plays in the payments industry. The material compares the payment network to the beating heart of athletes during Olympic competition. As the Games approach and emotions rise, the heart's rhythm accelerates, illustrating the message that Visa—like each of our hearts—is always ready and acts whenever needed.

The film was used in various advertising campaigns, both online and televised, across Europe—including Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Greece, Spain, Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Malta, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

---------

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is a global payments technology company providing electronic payment services to consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and public sector entities in over 200 countries and territories. The company operates the VisaNet transaction processing network, capable of handling over 65,000 transactions per second, offering consumers fraud protection and retailers payment guarantees. Visa is not a bank, does not issue payment cards, extend credit, or set fees charged to consumers. However, through innovations introduced by Visa, its financial institution clients can offer consumers greater payment choice—paying immediately with debit cards, in advance with prepaid cards, or later with credit cards.

Summary

Visa introduced a range of innovative payment solutions at the Rio 2016 Olympics to celebrate 30 years of partnership with the Olympic movement. These include payment rings for 60 Team Visa members, Pulseira Bradesco wristbands for 3,000 fans, and wristbands for the Great Britain Olympic team. Also new is the Swatch Bellamy watch—the first watch with contactless payment functionality.

All solutions operate in NFC standard and are supported by 4,000 terminals at Olympic venues. Visa’s advertising campaign, produced with Saatchi & Saatchi, compares the payment network to an athlete’s beating heart and has been broadcast in over a dozen European countries.