Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium To Go Cashless

To help keep the prices of food and drinks low, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta is about to become cashless. Only credit cards, debit cards and mobile payments will be accepted at the venue beginning on March 10, Bloomberg reported.

With the change, the costs of working with cash, such as reconciliation and physical cash drawers, are said to be removed. Steve Cannon, chief executive of Falcons’ owner AMB Group, told Bloomberg, “There is a significant amount of effort and cost that goes into the handling and accountability around cash that will get completely removed from the equation.” At the same time, it was said the move would make transaction times quicker and provide more flexibility for price changes.

To serve the “underbanked,” the stadium will have roughly 10 machines that will let users exchange cash (ranging from $10 to $1,000) for a prepaid Visa debit card. AMB Group also decided to begin its cashless strategy amid soccer season, and soccer’s fan base is generally more oriented toward technology. Cannon said, according to the outlet, “If we have to make any adjustments or pivots, we will be able to do that before [the] Falcons’ season begins.”

The news comes as the Detroit Lions deployed digital and physical upgrades to kick its dining game up a notch in the midst of significant renovations to the Ford Field stadium. Amid a $100 million project, a new Gridiron Club premium seating area was created, along with a 4,000-square-foot kitchen and the testing of mobile order-ahead food services.

During the last two games of the 2017 season, the organization tested mobile order offerings to purchase food and beverage services as well as premium seating. And to avoid jams with the new strategy, the group created pickup counters near the cash registers at the venue.