An Evolutionary Partnership

Since 1986, Visa and the Olympic Games have united in a powerful partnership built on innovation and impact. In 2002, Visa became the first global partner of the International Paralympic Committee (IPSC), sponsoring every Paralympic Games since. From the start, it was clear the collaboration was going to be more than a sponsorship, but an evolutionary partnership with a keen eye for positive change and creating innovative ways of uplifting everyone, everywhere.

A partnership full of opportunities

Over the years, Visa has built on this long-time partnership, not only providing innovative payment solutions, but also creating opportunities to empower a more inclusive and sustainable world, providing economic uplift for each host city.
Since the partnership formed, Visa has brought the latest payment innovations to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, unlocking never-before-seen ways to pay that help foster more open and connected cities. For example, for London 2012, Visa enabled contactless payments for the first time, which acted as a catalyst for integrating contactless into society.

'Visa's Contactless cards were a gamechanger; they made payments so easy and simple with just a tap. You could get seamless payments almost everywhere - from the busy morning tube journeys to the village, to the final cocktail of the night.' Jonnie Peacock - Para Athlete, Team Visa.

Fast forward four years to the Rio 2016, Visa worked with merchants to combine effortless fashion with effortless payments, allowing payments to be made through wearables with an NFC chip. These revolutionary advancements at the Games have given both consumers and businesses more secure and convenient ways of paying and allowed them to truly experience the tokenisation technology that is powering the future of payments.

Pushing forward a further four years to Tokyo 2020, where despite the postponement of the games due to the global pandemic, it didn’t stop Visa from innovating and moving forward. During which we actually saw digital payments exceed face-to-face for the first time. With the rise in digital payments, network tokens were even more key in delivering the seamless and trustworthy payments journey experiences consumers expect.

Evolving equally and inclusively

Visa’s mission is to uplift everyone, everywhere and, while increasingly innovative payment solutions contribute to this, they have always gone further to deliver that mission. Their partnership with the Olympic & Paralympic games has also introduced numerous initiatives and programmes aimed at enabling more inclusive and sustainable economies.

For Paris 2024, Visa, with OCOG are committed to filling all Paralympic stadiums and will be inviting major banks and financial institutions to join them at Visa’s biannual European Payments Forum, with a key focus on celebrating the Paralympic Games.

Visa’s partnership approach to the Games involves including everyone, everywhere, and that means colleagues too. To ensure all colleagues are able to enjoy the Games and we have engaged them through multiple activities and unique events, including the opportunity to be involved in the Olympic Torch Relay. Where, fifty-five Visa colleagues will have the chance to take part and be among the 10,000 Torch Relay carriers, so they can leave their stamp on the Games and become a part of history.

Fostering the vision for the future

 'I have been a part of the Olympic and Paralympic Games as both an athlete and presenter, and it's been amazing to see the innovation and evolution over the years with Visa as our partner' - Dame Denise Lewis, Olympic Heptathlete.

Over time, Visa’s innovations have built a platform that aims to make Paris 2024 the be the most responsible, inclusive, equal and spectacular Games to date. From Visa Network Tokens that can enhance the consumer experience when paired with Click to Pay and the Visa Go App to enabling the instant issuance of virtual cards to easily pay for goods across Paris with access to exclusive offers with businesses across France.