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Fiserv Inc. will field more than 200 Clover point-of-sale devices and handheld Clover Flex devices in Stamford Bridge, the home stadium of England’s Chelsea Football Club, as the processor continues to champion contactless payments.
Announced Wednesday, the debut of the Clover devices in the stadium means attendees will be able to use their contactless credit and debit cards for transactions at food and beverage stands, museum entrance, and stadium tours. Fiserv already was the club’s payment processor. The Clover POS systems will be used for food and beverage purchases while the Flex devices will be used for program sales. Consumers can use contactless-enabled cards and mobile wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.
The club views cashless-payment adoption not only as a way to minimize contact between individuals, but also to expedite back-office processes. “The speed and convenience with which Clover can enable payments will help transform both the fan experience and our retail operations, while also enhancing the efficiency of our treasury processes as it eliminates tedious tasks such as coin counting,” Guy Laurence, Chelsea chief executive, said in a statement. Wednesday marked the club’s return to full capacity—it seats more than 40,000—since the pandemic.
Brookfield, Wis.-based Fiserv said more than 25 major stadiums use Clover POS technology. Competition for venues is strong. In July, Shift4 Payments Inc. landed the payment processing contract for Chicago’s United Center, a deal that includes POS hardware and software. In March, Shift4 paid $72 million to acquire VenueNext Inc., a Palo Alto, Calif.-based provider of mobile payments, point-of-sale services, and loyalty programs for sports leagues, business campuses, and similar markets.
