Visa payment gloves released for Winter Olympics
Visa has partnered with a South Korean firm to produce payment gloves for sports fans attending the Winter Olympics in the country next year. The card company is working with Lotte Card, the finance division of retailer Lotte Department Store, to market the gloves ahead of the event in PyeongChang. They will have a duel interface chip embedded with a contactless antenna and be capable of making payments using compatible readers across the world. Visa is also producing a range of payment-enabled lapel pins for the Winter Games, of which the company is the exclusive payment partner.
Sports fans attending the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang will be able to keep their hands warm and fend off frostbite while paying for goods and services thanks to a special pair of wooly mittens bearing the Visa brand and an embedded NFC chip.

Visa teamed up with Lotte Card, the financial arm of South Korean-based retail giant, Lotte Department Store, to produce and make the gloves, as well as a commemorative Olympic pin and NFC stickers, available for purchase in Korea.



With the average temperature in PyeognChang hovering at 4.8°C, the payment glove will offer fans a way to pay securely without having to get cold hands. The gloves contain a dual interface chip housed with a contactless antenna capable of completing purchases throughout official Olympic Venues and compatible readers globally. The mittens will come with embedded prepaid amounts valued at KRW30,000 or KRW50,000.



Visa is also bringing to market four lapel pins featuring custom PyeongChang 2018 designs to offer a payment-enabled collectable for fans and athletes to utilise on-site. Cost per pin is KRW5,000 plus desired embedded prepaid amounts valued at KRW30,000 or KRW50,000.



The wearable stickers are available in denominations of KRW30,000, KRW50,000, KRW100,000 and KRW200,000. The collection includes 8 distinct designs including Soohorang - the official PyeongChang 2018 mascot - and the Korean flag.



As the exclusive payment partner of the Olympic Games, Visa is managing the entire payment system infrastructure and network throughout all venues within the arena. This includes more than 1,000 contactless point-of-sale terminals capable of accepting mobile and wearable payments.



“We are looking forward to transforming the payment experience for everyone who attends the upcoming Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang,” says Iain Jamieson, Korea country manager at Visa. “At Visa, we have been working tirelessly to ensure all of the Olympic venues are equipped with the very latest payment capabilities to provide the best experience possible for all those on-site.”