On July 16, 2016, more than 28,000 football fans packed Vienna’s newest
and most technologically advanced football venue, the Allianz Stadion, to
christen the new venue and see the home team, Rapid Vienna, take on
England’s Chelsea Football Club in a pre-season exhibition game.
It was a good match, with Rapid beating Chelsea 2-0, but in some ways the real
highlight of the day was the stadium’s virtual currency, the
Rapid-Mari€. Instead of using cash or bank cards at the arena to pay
for food and drinks, fans now use an innovative contactless payment system
that combines cashless transactions with customer loyalty. They use
Rapid-Mari€ currency cards to buy refreshments, get receipts and create
a history of their orders.
Simple setup
When you attend a match at Allianz Stadion, you receive a Rapid-Mari€
payment card, fitted with a MIFARE DESFire EV1 chip. The card can be topped up
at dedicated machines and promoters – people using a mobile app to do
so – throughout the stadium, using cash, a credit card or a debit card.
The Rapid-Mari€ cards aren’t personalized, so there’s no
risk of identity theft if the card is lost or stolen and because the cards
don’t expire, there’s no pressure to spend the total by a
certain date. The card’s MIFARE DESFire EV1 chip uses AES encryption to
ensure the highest data security and supports NFC, so the cards even work with
mobile apps running on smartphones.
To make a payment, simply tap your card to the vendor’s cash register
or smartphone and the NFC reader in the vendor’s device deducts the
amount from your balance. If you want to add to your balance while
you’re placing your order, you can hand cash to the vendor, tap your
card to their device and the NFC reader in the device loads the new amount
onto your card.
The Allianz Stadion setup, which now involves more than 210 stationary and
mobile cash points, was provided by ventopay, the Austrian leading specialist
in billing and payment systems for cafeterias, restaurants, hospitals, arenas
and other large venues.
Guest services
The basis of the Allianz Stadion is ventopay’s integrated mocca®
payment solution, which includes several mocca® terminals and apps. For
example, the mocca.guest is a self-service terminal that issues cashless
payment cards and lets attendees add to their balance. There are nine such
terminals installed at the stadium. When fans are finished using their cards,
they can return them to these mocca.guest terminals for processing, where they
get paid out their remaining balance. The cards can also be returned to
promotors.
Mobile and fixed payment terminals
The stadium’s 60 mobile cash registers are made possible by
mocca.touch.mobile, an app that runs on Android OS devices and uses NFC
technology for easy, fast and secure contactless payment. There are 122
fixed-in-place registers that use the mocca.touch software for
Rapid-Mari€ payments and top-ups and 30 cash points that have been
updated with some of the mocca.touch features that let you add funds to the
card. There are also five VIP lounges with additional cash points.
Loyalty program
An add-on to the mocca® system, called mocca.app, is a companion app for
the Rapid-Mari€ card and runs on your smartphone. This app lets you
view your previous food orders and you can see receipts from past purchases.
It lets you sign up for personalized information and news about the concession
services, with updates on menu items and details on food ingredients and
allergens. The mocca.app also includes the mocca.loyalty feature that lets you
collect bonus points for which you will get discounts or free products.
Receipts
Many Austrian businesses are legally required to issue a receipt with a
purchase. The mocca.app lets you keep track of your receipts electronically on
your phone and you can print receipts while you’re on site at any of
the arena’s mocca.guest terminals. The setup meets the necessary legal
requirements, while saving paper and reducing the amount of time required for
each transaction.
Real-time analytics
The new system makes it easier for stadium management to respond to consumer
needs as they arise. For example, the setup can be used to open up additional
cash registers in a given part of the stadium during breaks or to optimize the
menus offered by catering services before, during and after the match.
Powered by MIFARE and secure NFC
When designing the Rapid-Mari€ setup, ventopay chose MIFARE DESFire EV1
contactless for several reasons. MIFARE DESFire EV1 offers a true tap-and-go
experience, while the inclusion of an up to 8 kB EEPROM memory with fast
programming means there’s room enough to support multiple applications.
The technology can also be extended to other formats, including wristbands and
key fobs, if the venue wants to do so.
A winning solution
The Rapid-Mari€ setup, with its secure, reliable payment scheme and
value-added loyalty program has been well received. It enhances the attendee
experience by eliminating the need to carry cash and saves time when it comes
to making payments and gives fans a new way to enjoy being at the game. Taken
as a whole, MIFARE and NFC are helping Austria’s winningest football
team extend their in-stadium capabilities and prepare for the future while
making game day itself more enjoyable.
Related links
SK Rapid Allianz Stadium
Ventopay
NXP MIFARE DESFire EV1
