PyeongChang 2018: Will Visa’s new ‘wearables’ make the podium?
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Visa, the payment technology partner at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, has introduced three commercially available wearable payment devices, for PyeongChang 2018.
In the spirit of the Olympic Winter Games, Visa created NFC-enabled payment gloves, commemorative stickers and Olympic pins that allow fans and athletes to complete seamless and secure payments with a simple tap at any contactless-enabled terminal.
“It is important to me, as a Winter Olympian, to work with a brand like Visa that not only supports a diverse group of athletes, but also enables an enhanced fan experience for those at to The Games,” said Mikaela Shiffrin (main picture), USA Olympic gold medalist and Team Visa athlete. “Olympic pins are always the most coveted collectibles, these Visa pins really up the ante.”
About the products
Commemorative Olympic Pin: Inspired by the long-standing tradition of collecting commemorative pins at the Olympic Games, Visa is bringing to market four unique lapel pins featuring custom PyeongChang 2018 designs to offer a payment-enabled collectable for fans and athletes to utilize on-site. Cost per pin is KRW5,000 plus desired embedded prepaid amounts valued at KRW30,000 or KRW50,000.
Payment-Enabled Gloves: The average temperature in PyeongChang will be — 4.8 degree celsius[1], so gloves will be a must-have! This payment glove will offer fans a way to pay safely and securely without having to get cold hands. The gloves contain a dual interface chip housed with a contactless antenna capable of completing purchases throughout official Olympic Venues and compatible readers globally. The gloves will come with embedded prepaid amounts valued at KRW30,000 or KRW50,000.
Sticker: With a thin and flexible adhesive design and an embedded dual interface NFC-chip and antenna, these micro-tags can be attached to almost anything to make seamless payments in a moment’s notice. The wearable sticker is available in denominations of KRW30,000, KRW50,000, KRW100,000 and KRW200,000. The collection includes 8 distinct designs including Soohorang — the official PyeongChang 2018 mascot — the Korean flag, and much more.
“We are looking forward to transforming the payment experience for everyone who attends the upcoming Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang,” said Iain Jamieson, Korea country manager at Visa. “At Visa, we have been working tirelessly to ensure all of the Olympic venues are equipped with the very latest payment capabilities to provide the best experience possible for all those on-site.”
