Oft To Review London 2012 Visa Payments

The Office of Fair Trading is reviewing restrictions put in place for the London 2012 Olympics which require fans buying tickets by card for the Games to only use Visa payments systems.

The restricted payment process was revealed to be part of the top-tier sponsorship deal struck between Visa and the IOC.

Visa credit and debit cards will be the only ones accepted at shops or cash machines at Olympic venues.
The competition enforcer the Office of Fair Trading said it was looking into the matter.

A statement said: ‘The OFT and the European Commission are aware of these issues and are currently in discussion about what action, if any, should be taken.’

Visa has been the official card for Olympic events since the Seoul Games in 1988.

A London 2012 spokesperson said this kind of arrangement was the norm: ‘Visa will be the official card and payment system for London 2012, in the same way as for the Beijing Games in 2008 and the Vancouver Games earlier this year. Visa has been a top partner for 24 years, so this is not new.’

Visa is the dominant debit card supplier in the country with 53m customers compared with 17.5m for Mastercard.

In credit cards, Mastercard has more customers with 36m holders, compared with 22m for Visa.

Visa has pointed out that non-Visa card holders can buy a pre-pay card for the duration of the Games.

A company spokesman said that sponsorship worked because firms gained exclusivity in their sector – and by doing so the Olympics Committee was able to raise the funds required to stage the Games.

Overseas fans will be able to use other cards if purchasing tickets from their national Olympic committee, rather than London 2012 sites.