Global payment provider Tappit has announced a multi-year partnership with the San Antonio Spurs, the firm’s third agreement with a major league sports team.
The partnership aims to help reintroduce fans of the National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise back into the team’s AT&T Centre arena through the utilisation of safe contactless mobile payment technology.
Tappit, which specialises in developing data ecosystems for sports, events, stadiums and venues, will provide its white-label mobile payment technology for Spurs’ supporters via the franchise’s official app, allowing purchases to be made via mobile phone and reducing human contact.
Preferred payment methods can be connected to the app to provide a ‘frictionless experience at the concession and merchandise stands’ and enable the team to better engage with its followers through personalised vouchers, incentives and loyalty points.
“Our priority is to keep everyone safe as they’re easing back into large venues and live events this year,” said Tappit’s CEO, Jason Thomas.
“Here at Tappit, we recently conducted a survey of American sports fans to learn more about their confidence levels around returning to live events.
With more than a quarter of Americans indicating they’re comfortable enough to attend events in-person in the next six months, we’re certainly excited for the future — but we know it’s more important than ever to take as many safety precautions as possible in order to ensure a stress-free return for fans.
“One of the most crucial aspects is implementing cleaner, safer, cashless payments through solutions like ours, which also equip teams with data and customer insights that other payment methods can’t provide.”
The Spurs are preparing to reopen the AT&T Centre under new health and safety guidelines to comply with COVID-19 restriction measures. As a result of the alliance with Tappit, the duo intended to minimise contact between fans and staff to provide a cleaner environment and experience.
An additional benefit is the reduced risk of fraud and theft due to all payment information being securely kept within the app, as well as eliminating the need to carry cash or credit and debit cards.
“Health and safety are at the forefront of all our fan experience upgrades this year, so we are very excited to introduce the AT&T Center as a cashless venue for Spurs games” said Brandon Gayle, the EVP of Revenue, Brand and Communication at the San Antonio Spurs.
“We trust Tappit to help us create a safer environment for fans, staff and players alike. We are proud to be able to take our safety precautions one step further with the implementation of cashless payments, which minimizes person-to-person contact while also improving fan experience.”
In addition to the new agreement with the Spurs, Tappit maintains partnerships with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL), also focused around the use of mobile payment technology for fan engagement purposes.
