Over 75% of Transactions at Paris Olympics were Contactless

By Gloria Methri

About three-quarters of the international purchases made during the first weekend of the Paris Olympics were made using contactless payments. According to a report released by Visa, 78% of those purchases were contactless, 9% higher than that for the same weekend in the previous year.

Visa, the Official Payment Technology Partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, has revealed initial consumer spending patterns during the 2024 Paris Games’ kickoff.

During the first weekend of the Olympic Games, small businesses in Paris experienced a remarkable 26% year-on-year increase in sales driven by Visa cardholders. The most significant surges in spending were observed in theatres and museums, which saw a staggering 159% increase, followed by food and grocery at 42%, restaurants at 36%, retail goods at 21%, and entertainment at 18%.

Notably, U.S. Visa cardholders contributed the largest share of overseas spending at 29%, while spending from Brazilian and Japanese cardholders rose by 33% and an impressive 129%, respectively.

Visa has built a custom payment network across Paris and beyond over the last three years to ensure that contactless payments are accepted at 3,500 points of sale at the Games’ venues, according to the release.

Charlotte Hogg, Chief Executive Officer of Visa Europe, said, “As a sponsor of the Olympic Movement for almost 40 years and the Paralympic Games since 2002, we know first-hand the impact that the Games can have to boost host-country economies, in line with Visa’s purpose to uplift everyone everywhere. Our latest data shows a significant increase in consumer spending among Visa cardholders during the Opening Ceremony Weekend.”

In the lead-up to the Olympics, flight bookings to Paris increased by 39% compared to the same period in 2023. This surge in travel was particularly pronounced among travellers under the age of 35, whose numbers grew by an astonishing 120% year-on-year. The U.S. led the increase in traveller numbers to Paris, with a 64% rise from the previous year, followed by Germany at 61% and Spain at 27%.

The spending boom extended beyond Paris to other cities hosting Olympic events, with Saint-Etienne witnessing a 214% increase, Lille doubling its spending levels with a 100% rise, and Marseille seeing a 38% uplift.

Hogg said, “We are particularly pleased to see the uptick in spending at French small businesses after we helped 13 million of them digitize over the last 4 years in Europe and connected them to spectators through the Visa Go app. The increased engagement of younger generations, which we see in the travel data, is also an exciting finding and shows the reach and relevance of the Games today and into the future.”