InComm Brings Cashless Payments to Sports And Entertainment Venues Via Prepaid Cards

With the Covid-19 pandemic surging across most of the United States, sports and entertainment venue operators are looking for ways to convert cash transactions to cashless payments. In response, Atlanta-based InComm Payments on Wednesday announced the Jacksonville Jaguars organization of the National Football League is allowing consumers to exchange cash for prepaid cards that are Visa- or Mastercard-branded and so can be used within the Jaguars’ stadium and at merchants outside the venue. 

Consumers can purchase the cards by exchanging cash of equal value at the guest-services office in the Jaguars’ home stadium, TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Fla. A representative loads the desired value onto the card and activates it using a handheld mobile point-of-sale device. Consumers are not charged a fee to purchase the card. 

InComm, which is processing the cash-for-card transactions, also offers an automated self-service kiosk as part of the new service. The kiosk accepts cash in exchange for dispensing a prepaid card. The Jaguars opted not to deploy this option as team executives felt the hand-held mobile devices offered greater flexibility, Adam Brault, senior vice president, financial services, for InComm says by email.   

The prepaid cards issued at the venue can also be branded. In the case of the Jaguars, the team’s logo can be placed on the card.

“A significant portion of U.S. consumers are cash-based or cash-preferred,” says Brault. “So, for daily transactions, many venues were already exploring cashless solutions before the pandemic. Finding the right solution, however, has become more crucial as venues seek to provide inclusive payment experiences that abide with health concerns.”

InComm, which is partnering with PayPal Holdings Inc. to roll out QR-code acceptance at the point-of-sale at 8,200 CVS Pharmacy stores nationwide, says it is in talks with other venue operators about introducing the cash-for-card service. “We want to ensure consumers visiting TIAA Bank Field have an easy way to pay for food and merchandise, and they enjoy a memorable game-day experience,” says Ryan Prep, senior director of facility operations for the Jaguars, in a prepared statement. “Guests can simply take the card home and use it in their next visit to a Jaguars game or wherever the card’s network is accepted.”