Brighton's Amex Stadium to become cashless

Tuesday, 10 September 2019 16:48

Managers at Brighton and Hove Albion have said they're working towards making all match day transactions cashless by the 2020/21 season at the latest. An early start has been made with the middle kiosks in each concourse, along with the kiosk on the north side in East Upper, as the Premier League club announced that they'll be card-only from the home match against Burnley, on September 14th. The club said existing contactless terminals in trading outlets at football stadiums around the world have been shown to cut queuing times, and speed up service. Research determined the average transaction time for a cash payment at the Amex Stadium is 167 seconds; but, for all card payments, the average time is just 83 seconds. Chief executive and deputy chairman Paul Barber said: "By moving to a totally cashless stadium, we have the opportunity to cut current cash-based service times in half. "That's a huge improvement, so it's easy to see why new stadia are opting to be cashless. "A cashless stadium also makes things simpler and more secure for us, will reduce costs for Sodexo [the stadium's catering partner] and for us, and it will ultimately help us keep prices down." Mr Barber also had a message for supporters who prefer not to use cards: "We appreciate there are those fans who like to pay in cash, but technology is evolving quickly and ultimately we have made this decision to benefit the majority. "The good news is that a majority of our fans are already paying by card rather than with cash in the stadium, so the transition will be quick and easy for many of our fans." The Albion said new hardware had been installed, and software upgraded. After tests at the previous two home matches, the club will begin its phased roll-out in anticipation of a fully cashless stadium by no later than August 2020.