Not all credit cards can be used in the same way during the Paris Olympic Games.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games begin on July 26 with the opening ceremony. The events will begin a few days earlier, on July 24, with rugby sevens and the potential presence of Antoine Dupont, captain of the French XV or even the football events with, we hope, the most competitive team possible for coach Thierry Henry.
During the Olympics, millions of tourists will be present in France and in the streets of the capital to follow all the events which will take place until August 11 and the closing ceremony. Note also that there will also be many tourists for the Paralympic Games from August 28 to September 8.
Tourists and fans also mean financial profitability for the Paris 2024 Olympic committee, which is counting on all sales of tickets and related products around the events to be able to meet the planned budget. With the two official stores, the objective is to reach 130 million euros in revenue, or 3% of the total financing of the event. These official stores target Games enthusiasts, but also, more conveniently, people passing through the Halles or the Louvre,” explained Édouard Bardon, director of licenses and official stores for Paris 2024.
But during the Olympics, tourists and even the French may be surprised to see certain payments blocked. Indeed, as a partner of the Olympic Games, Visa will be the only electronic payment method accepted at official points of sale for drinks, food and souvenirs. Otherwise, you will have to use cash, or buy a prepaid card.
To manage transactions during the competition, the company will deploy 4,500 payment terminals. Spectators who have a Mastercard bank card, for example, will therefore not be able to use it, but for those who cry foul, know that this is not new: this rule has been in force since the 1986 Olympic Games. had been granted during the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, where digital yuan transactions were also accepted.
Concretely, how will payments happen for people who have not anticipated? Questioned by L’Equipe, Charlotte Hogg, director of Visa Europe, explained. “You will be able to obtain a Visa card for free and load it on each site. We will also allow you to purchase a prepaid digital card directly on your phone, via an application launched for the occasion. Once you have your card, you will be able to pay physically with your phone or use it for e-commerce as with any card. All these services will be the same for the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games. Good news, these cards can even be used outside of competition venues or for e-commerce.
