Cash or Visa? What to Expect at the Paris Olympic Games
Visa created a one-of-a-kind platform, allowing social media creators, influencers, brand representatives, and athletes to share their tips, ideas, and visions.
Highlights
Visa will be the sole digital payment option at the Paris Olympics, excluding Mastercard and American Express.
Visa supports 117 diverse athletes through Team Visa, promoting inclusivity in sports.
Visa's strategy includes empowering athletes on social media to connect with fans and drive commerce.
That’s right; your Mastercard or American Express will be no good in Paris come July and August, as Visa is the exclusive payment technology partner of the Olympic games. Visa has been a proud supporter of the Games since 1986, and the partnership has been extended through 2032. This means that Visa is the only form of digital payment in the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Talk about sponsorship that pays off - literally!
On the other hand, the company’s involvement in the Olympic world as a global partner is clearly defined. Visa stands as one of the biggest supporters of the Olympic athletes, taking on an immense role in the inclusivity campaign. As Paris joins London as one of the two cities to host the Olympics three times, a century after the historic 1924 Olympics, let’s see what Visa has in store this year.
Team Visa: The Impact of Sponsorship in Sports
In 2003, Visa made history by becoming the first-ever global partner of the International Paralympic Committee in their mission to create a more inclusive, fair environment in sports. However, their Olympic activities started way back in 1986, merging their marketing presence and Olympic financing with fund-raising projects benefiting numerous NOCs. The Olympic Committee has never failed to recognize the humanitarian note of Visa’s sponsorship strategy and their efforts to give back to the sports community and those in need.
Visa’s involvement in the world of sports doesn’t stop at the biggest global sporting event. They pride themselves on being the official worldwide partner of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023, utilizing their well-known strategy. Visa established their spot as the exclusive payment service, providing modern payment technology for visitors and athletes. Moreover, Visa has been a proud sponsor of the NFL since the mid-nineties, facilitating their role as the most innovative, secure, convenient payment service at packed events.
Andrea Fairchild, the mastermind behind Visa’s global sponsorship strategy, states that Visa is a proud supporter of athletes, fans, and communities in sporting events across the globe. She also emphasizes that Visa’s involvement in the sports universe allows the company to “make a transformational impact” with convenient, sustainable payment solutions.
Visa & The Olympics: What’s in Store for Paris 2024?
The collaboration isn’t limited to payment services and sponsorship. In fact, Visa plays a vital role in the equality and diversity campaign of the Olympics by forming its own team, Team Visa. In November of 2023, Visa organized a two-day Team Visa Summit hosted in Paris, welcoming their own team. The summit included a creator-led content master class focusing on brand immersion strategies, as well as overall advice for standing out in the creator economy.
The record-breaking Team Visa for the Paris Olympics includes 117 Olympic and Paralympic athletes from 40 disciplines and over 60 markets between the ages of 15 and 48, forming the largest and the most diverse team in the history of the Olympics. The team also has the highest female member percentage ever and over 45 million social media followers altogether.
Visa’s golden team includes renowned athletes from all over the world: Noah Lyles (sprinter), Sky Brown from Great Britain (skateboarding), Paralympic gold-winning Oksana Masters, 48-year-old gymnast Oksana Chusovitina, Poland’s Iga Swiatek, as well as Serbia’s Ivana Spanovic (long jump) and Nemanja Matijasevic (para athletics long jump).
In the words of Visa’s Chief Marketing Officer Frank Cooper, the summit's objective was to help athletes build their presence in the sports world, empowering them to embrace their uniqueness. The individuality of every athlete would help them stand out, build a closer relationship with their fans, and eventually - generate commerce.
By organizing this summit, Visa created a one-of-a-kind platform, allowing social media creators, influencers, brand representatives, and athletes to share their tips, ideas, and visions. The event included multiple collaborative sessions, challenges, and activities - all revolving around a strong media presence and powerful storytelling.
“We continue to think about ways in which we can expand the program. It’s about supporting athletes everywhere. What we’re really dedicated to this year is building a more inclusive world through sport.” Andrea Fairchild, SVP & Head of Sponsorships
Visa’s Summit of Social Media Wisdom: Closing Thoughts
Supporting the inclusivity initiative remains one of the bravest, noblest objectives of Visa’s Olympic agenda. Furthermore, creating a team of athletes (both Olympic and Paralympic) from different parts of the world and sports spheres is one of the best ways of turning words into actions - which is always appreciated.
On the other hand, what more traditional Olympic fans and sports experts may not be quite appreciative of is the emphasis on social media - the objective of Visa’s summit. Some may argue that highlighting the number of social media followers as opposed to professional achievements may dishearten athletes not interested in building a social media presence.
Financial Outlook Visa V 0.00%↑
Total processed transactions, which represent transactions processed by Visa V 0.00%↑, for the three months ended December 31, 2023, were 57.5 billion, a 9% increase over the prior year.
International transaction revenues grew 8% over the prior year to $3.0 billion.
Cash, cash equivalents and investment securities were $21.4 billion at December 31, 2023.
On December 15, 2023, Visa announced it signed a definitive agreement to acquire a majority interest in Prosa, a leading payments processor in Mexico.
On January 23, 2024, the board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.520 per share of class A common stock payable on March 1, 2024, to all holders of record as of February 9, 2024.
So inclusive that half of the people can’t pay at the Olympic sites!
This exclusivity is adding so many inefficiencies and annoyances to visitors it’s actually incredible it got somehow signed off by the organizers.
First rule of doing business: make it easy for people to pay you…