Mastercard Debuts Tap and Go Race Bibs at NYC Marathon

When runners who were preparing to participate in the New York City Marathon picked up their race materials for the Sunday (Nov. 6) event, one of the items was a race bib that could be equipped with a method for contactless payments.

A race bib is the paper with the participant’s unique identification number that runners wear around their necks during the event. In the case of this year’s New York City Marathon, runners could also visit Mastercard at the event to have one of the company’s “Tap & Go” contactless payment chips that was preloaded with $10 adhered to their bib, Mastercard told PYMNTS in an email.

“As part of its sponsorship of the TCS NYC Marathon, this year Mastercard is elevating its tech impact through unique offerings like contactless bibs,” Mastercard said in the email. “This new technology, along with Priceless experiences for cardholders, runners and spectators, serves to display how Mastercard is at the forefront of what the future of the race can be.”

This year’s NYC Marathon drew more than 50,000 registered participants, according to the event’s website.

The marathon returned to its full capacity for the first time since 2019 and included nearly 48,000 finishers, according to a press release.

Mastercard reported in January that contactless payments are increasingly becoming the preferred way to pay.

In fact, contactless payments now account for one in every two in-person switched transactions globally, up from a one-in-three ratio previously, the company reported at the time.

“We’re making great progress and expanding contactless acceptance by turning the world’s billions of active smartphones into potential acceptance devices, enabling people to buy and sell whenever, wherever they want,” Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach said Jan. 27 during the company’s quarterly earnings call.

Miebach also said Mastercard is “leaning into payment innovation in areas like installments, contactless, acceptance and cryptocurrencies.”