In the 11 Russian host cities of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, approximately one in five (17 per cent) purchases with Visa has used contactless technology.

This is according to new data from Visa, which found that in the stadiums themselves, the share of contactless payments was 54 per cent, inclusive of purchases made by fans from Russia and abroad. On average, Visa cardholders have spent $56.65 per transaction, with fans from the US spending the most – followed by China and Mexico in second and third respectively.

The opening match between Russia and Saudi Arabia on June 14 -- where fans from 123 countries filled the stadium -- saw the highest volume of payment transactions. The June 17 match between Germany and Mexico saw the second highest volume of transactions. The average in-stadium transaction amount for all matches during the first five days of tournament play was 1,682 rubles ($26.66).

Additionally, Russian fans made twice the amount of transactions for food and drinks compared to non-Russian fans, however, the average per-transaction amount for non-Russian attendees was 1.5 times higher than Russian purchases in those categories.

“Many of the international visitors attending this summer’s tournament have never been to Russia before and we’re excited to be providing them with the ultimate tournament experience, powered by the speed and ease of Visa’s digital payments, which are increasingly happening on contactless cards, devices and wearables,” said Ekaterina Petelina, country manager of Visa Russia.

“In the stadiums particularly, fans are using contactless payment technology to speed through the lines and quickly get back to the action on the pitch.”

Share Story: