Ricoh Arena lands award for new payment system
A CASHLESS payment system has landed the home of Coventry City with a new award.
The Ricoh Arena has been recognised in the Health/Lifestyle/Entertainment of the annual Contactless Intelligence Monkey Awards.
Angus Houston, executive director of the arena, together with human resources director Jacky Isaac collected the award at a ceremony at the Hilton London Tower Bridge hotel.
The £113m arena beat off competition from the Austrian Institute of Technology for its wireless health monitoring scheme, the City of Oulu in Finland for its Near Field Communication system for meals for the elderly and Caffè Nero in the UK.
Daniel Gidney, chief executive of the arena, said the venue was proud to receive the international recognition for the payment system.
“We were the first stadium in the UK to introduce the cashless payment system and there is no doubt that it has speeded up the service for supporters buying refreshments and food in the concourses on match day,” he said.
“It has also been a commercial success with the average spend increasing in the concourses and corporate areas.”
The awards recognise innovation in a variety of sectors and the Health/Lifestyle/Entertainment category is aimed at organisations which have incorporated contactless technology into their business as well as improving customer support and service.
Karen Brindley, organiser of the Contactless Intelligence Monkey Awards, said: “The focus of the Monkey Awards is on the organisations and companies that make contactless technology a reality, recognising that real-world deployments come as the result of commitment and hard work.
“Everyone knows the technology works. What we’re interested in is how that technology is successfully put into action in the real world.”
Picture Caption: From left, Karen Brindley, event organiser, Contactless Intelligence, Angus Houston, of Ricoh Arena and Mark Austin, head of contactless, Visa Europe at the award ceremony.
