Adelaide Oval - home of the Adelaide Crows - has become the first major stadium in Australia to accept cryptocurrency as a means of payment. This initiative is made possible through the payment solution of Crypto.com, a trusted brand with over 80 million global customers and a leader in regulatory compliance, security and privacy.
This venture is supported by Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Crows and financial systems software firm DataMesh, which is supplying the payment technology and terminals, making it a world-first scale integration. Starting from the AFL's 'Gather Round' on April 4, various food and drink outlets within Adelaide Oval can now accept Crypto.com payments from their patrons. Customers who wish to utilise cryptocurrency for payment can select Crypto.com as the payment method at checkout. This action generates a dynamic QR code on the merchant terminal which the customer can then scan using their Crypto.com App and authorise the payment in their preferred cryptocurrency type.
In celebration of this launch, there will be an AUD$10 cashback on the first 1,000 transactions made during the 'Gather Round' event. Additional promotions are expected throughout the 2024 Toyota AFL Premiership Season and Adelaide Crows home games.
Karl Mohan, General Manager for APAC, Crypto.com, highlighted the rapidly growing cryptocurrency adoption in Australia. “The payment technology we are introducing at Adelaide Oval is user-friendly and extremely scalable for both the merchant and customer. We see plenty of promise for future integrations like this," he said. As a major sponsor of the Adelaide Crows and the AFL, Mohan expressed excitement at launching this trial during a highly active season.
Tim Silvers, CEO of Adelaide Crows, praised the innovative partnership with Crypto.com, noting that the club is constantly seeking ways to deliver new initiatives to its members and fans. He added, "Whether it’s membership offerings or, in this case, purchasing food and beverage on game day, we also want to give our supporters the opportunity to select what best suits them."
Describing their mission of dismantling the traditional payment barriers and propelling the potential use of digital currencies, Mark Nagy, CEO of DataMesh, said, “We enable smooth and secure cryptocurrency transactions, unlocking a new frontier of payment acceptance." He pointed out that the innovative payment technology of DataMesh, smoothly integrated with Echidna POS, allows Crypto.com users to easily leverage their holdings for everyday purchases, thus marking a new era in crypto adoption.
This move follows the recent partnership between Crypto.com, DataMesh, and OTR, which resulted in the launch of Australia's first in-store cryptocurrency payments system in more than 440 Peregrines' retail outlets across Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia. The trial of Crypto.com Pay will continue throughout the 2024 Toyota AFL Premiership Season.