Anger over Visa stranglehold on London 2012 ticket purchases

Sponsorship deal leads to criticism from consumer groups

By Luke Whitmore, 25th June 2010

The 2012 London Olympic organisers have come under fire from consumer protection group Which? regarding their restriction of card payments for tickets to Visa customers.

The Visa payment system will be the only one accepted for Olympic ticket purchases, as part of a sponsorship deal agreed upon by the company and the London 2012 committee. A spokesman for the Games stated that the same system had been in place for the Beijing and Vancouver games and that this was "not new".

But Peter Vicary-Smith, chief executive of Which?, referred to the deal as "outrageous", calling upon the organisers to "take steps to ensure there's a level playing field and that UK consumers have equal access to the Games, whether or not they are Visa cardholders".

He also criticised the inconsistency in the fact that the restrictions applied exclusively to UK cardholders, with those living abroad free to buy tickets using other cards, as long as the purchases are made through their national Olympic committee.

The sponsorship arrangement will place similarly restrictive limitations on cash withdrawals and card purchases made within Olympic venues. While cash machines accepting all cards will be available at access points to sites, many have slammed the moves as still being too strict.

However, organisers claimed that the Games would not be able to go ahead without the funding received from this kind of exclusive corporate sponsorship - though it was additionally stated that other payment methods were being looked into. Visa also commented that it was possible for sports fans to purchase a pre-paid Visa card for use during the Olympics.

The Office of Fair Trading has said it is investigating the issue and is in discussion with the European Commission over whether action needs to be taken, but both the London 2012 organisation committee and Visa deny any wrongdoing.

Claims Financial