Football fans attending the FIFA World Cup in Qatar will be able to authenticate payments for purchases at three coffee outlets with their face, using biometric technology being piloted by Visa and Qatar National Bank. They can also apply for a digital prepaid card with animated card art that will be issued instantly to Visa cardholders.

Visa is piloting the two solutions as part of a wider rollout of payments technology at the international tournament that also includes enabling merchants and taxi drivers to accept contactless payments on a standard Android NFC smartphone with Visa’s Tap to Phone software point-of-sale solution.

The pilot will mark the first time that facial recognition technology has been used for payments in Qatar and will allow consumers to “authenticate payments using just their face without a physical card or mobile phone after initial enrolment. It will be piloted at three Flat White Speciality Coffee branches,” Visa says.

The digital card issuance solution will also be trialled with “limited cardholders in Doha”, enabling participants to apply by scanning a QR code, receive the digital prepaid card instantly on approval and store the card in their mobile wallet.

“The digital card will feature animated card art with the official mascot La’eeb, demonstrating a future in which consumers could bring greater personalisation and even digital animation to their Visa cards,” the card network explains.

“As FIFA’s long-standing partner, Visa wants to give football fans from around the world the best way to pay in Qatar while experiencing exciting new innovations,” Visa’s Saeeda Jaffar adds.

“With thousands of contactless payment terminals, FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 promises to be the most payment-enabled FIFA tournament ever.”

Visa unveiled its Tap to Phone solution in January 2020 and added Tap to Phone contactless payment acceptance for taxi drivers in Hong Kong in June this year.

Next: Visit the NFCW Expo to find new suppliers and solutions