Contactless Smart Cards, RFID, Payment, Transit and Security

PayPass adds another pro football stadium

Wednesday, September 7, 2005

Add the Washington Redskins to the list of football teams whose fans can pay with contactless PayPass cards and tokens. They join the Seattle Seahawks, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and NY Giants.


MasterCard and Washington Redskins Deploy MasterCard(R) PayPass(TM)

Merchants at Redskins’ FedExField to Accept PayPass, Offering Fans Speed, Convenience and Enhanced In-Stadium Experience

PURCHASE, N.Y., Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/ – MasterCard International today announced that the Washington Redskins Football Club will accept MasterCard(R) PayPass(TM), a new contactless payment option using radio frequency (RF) technology, at in-stadium merchants. FedExField, home of the Washington Redskins, will accept PayPass-enabled MasterCard cards at the point-of-sale, beginning with the home opener of the 2005 football season.

With MasterCard PayPass, Redskins fans won’t miss any of the action standing in lines or fumbling for cash. Cardholders simply tap their PayPass- enabled card on specially equipped merchant terminals throughout the stadiums when purchasing concessions.

“The Washington Redskins are thrilled to offer fans an easy-to-use and convenient contactless payment solution, in addition to providing rewards,” said Mike Stevens, senior vice president, Washington Redskins. “Fans benefit from an enhanced in-stadium experience through quicker transactions at on-site merchants and the ability to get back to their seats in a timely fashion.”

“The benefits of MasterCard PayPass extend far beyond a simpler way to pay,” said Fred P. Gore, senior vice president, North America Acceptance, MasterCard International. “PayPass provides football fans with a way to quickly pay for concessions so they can get back to enjoying the action of the game.”

MasterCard PayPass cardholders simply tap their PayPass-enabled MasterCard card on a specially-equipped terminal that utilizes a radio frequency (RF) chip to complete the transaction. Payment is completed quickly, securely and easily, without the hassle of swiping a card, fumbling for cash and coins or signing a receipt. Moments after the cardholder taps their PayPass-enabled MasterCard card, account details are communicated to the terminal and then processed through the MasterCard secure network for clearing and settlement.

MasterCard PayPass acceptance is ideal for sports venues and other cash- dominant environments, such as convenience stores, quick serve restaurants, drug stores, and movie theaters, where speed and ease of use are essential. PayPass-enabled cards, like other traditional MasterCard cards, also include magnetic stripe technology, so cardholders can use the cards anywhere MasterCard is accepted around the world.

Earlier this year, the Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens launched similar implementations of MasterCard PayPass acceptance at their stadiums, and the Philadelphia Eagles incorporated PayPass at its stadium in 2004. MasterCard is continuing to explore further deployments of PayPass at sports arenas throughout 2005, providing sports teams and merchants with the opportunity to offer new payment and reward applications and increase customer loyalty.

The following merchants have announced that they will accept MasterCard PayPass: participating McDonald’s, 7-Eleven stores, CVS, Ritz Camera Centers, Boater’s World Marine Centers, Sheetz, Regal Entertainment Group theatres (Regal Cinemas, United Artists Theatres and Edwards Theatres), Duane Reade and Meijer Stores. PayPass is also accepted at QWEST Field, M&T Bank Stadium, Lincoln Financial Field and Giants Stadium, homes of the National Football League’s Seattle Seahawks, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and NY Giants, respectively. For more information about MasterCard PayPass, visit www.mastercard.com/paypass. About MasterCard International

MasterCard International is a leading global payments solutions company that provides a broad variety of innovative services in support of our global members’ credit, deposit access, electronic cash, business-to-business and related payment programs. MasterCard, through its principal operating subsidiary, MasterCard International Incorporated, manages a family of well- known, widely accepted payment card brands including MasterCard(R), Maestro(R) and Cirrus(R) and serves financial institutions, consumers and businesses in over 210 countries and territories. The MasterCard award-winning Priceless(R) advertising campaign is now seen in 105 countries and in 48 languages, giving the MasterCard brand a truly global reach and scope. For more information go to www.mastercardinternational.com[end] 

The Smart Card Alliance Transportation Council has published a white paper examining how the transit industry can best make use of NFC technology.

“One of the major challenges facing transit agencies today is how to capitalize on the ever-growing popularity of mobile phones with a solid mobile strategy,” said Transportation Council Chairman Craig Roberts. “This white paper builds on the knowledge base developed in earlier white papers to foster a greater understanding of NFC technology, explain its role in the transit industry, and shed light on key issues facing the transit industry in developing a mobile strategy.”

read more »

Orange has announced the debut of its M-Stadium mobile contactless ticketing project with the Stade Malherbe Caen.

Led by Orange’s research facility in Caen, the M-Stadium project uses mobile contactless technology to cover a spectators’ entire stadium experience, from buying and using e-tickets to reading interactive tags in and around the venue.

read more »

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Treehouse Labs announced that it will soon be testing a RFID prototype that enables a sensing system inside of football helmets to alert coaches and medical staff when a player experiences an impact great enough to cause a concussion.

read more »

The UK’s YESpay International and YES-wallet.com have teamed up to build an NFC-enabled cloud-based mobile payments platform.

By integrating the YES-wallet Pouch digital wallet with YESpay EMBOSS payment service, the companies will provide a platform that encompasses e-Money, pre-paid and gift-card payments based on Visa PayWave and MasterCard PayPass contactless standards.

read more »

Turkcell, Turkey’s largest mobile operator, has announced the launch of its Cep-T Cüzdan NFC mobile wallet application on BlackBerry Bold 9900 smart phones.

Turkcell subscribers with NFC-enabled Bold 9900s can now use the mobile wallet service to make contactless payments at any MasterCard PayPass-enabled point of sale across Turkey, as well as abroad.

read more »

As some may recall back in June 2010, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) of New York launched tap-and-go contactless payments for commuters to enter select subway stations and participating bus lines using MasterCard PayPass-enabled terminals. Well, the results are in.

read more »

Subscribe to the Contactless News Library
Gain access to the largest collection of Auto-ID analysis on the Internet.