MLB stadiums become first sports venues to accept Apple Pay

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Photo: Flickr
Baseball fans will be able to buy peanuts, Cracker Jack and garlic fries with Apple Pay. Photo: Andrei Niemimäki/Flickr CC

iPhone 6 owners who happen to also be fans of Major League Baseball have a treat on their hands, courtesy of a new deal that will see Apple Pay added at several stadiums in time for the 2014 World Series.

San Francisco’s AT&T Park and Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium support the contactless NFC payment system, which will allow World Series ticket holders to pay for food and beverages using their iPhone 6 and 6 Plus devices.

“The ballpark experience lends itself well to simple, secure payments so fans get through concessions and back to the game quickly,” MasterCard’s chief emerging payments officer told Forbes, adding that the company is “thrilled” to bring Apple pay to the World Series. “We are constantly looking for opportunities to create enhanced fan experiences both in-stadium and online, whether that’s through advanced payment capabilities or delivering surprises to fans.”

As well as being able to use Apple Pay to pay on-site, MLB Advanced Media and Tickets.com will also allow Apple Pay users to buy single-game tickets for the 2015 Major League Baseball season by way of in-app purchases. The tickets are scheduled to go on sale in November.

A report yesterday claimed that Apple is expecting in-app purchases to represent the majority of its early Apple Pay transactions.

This isn’t the first time Major League Baseball has proven speedy at jumping on Apple’s latest technology. MLB installed iBeacons at 20 U.S. ballparks last year to offer iOS-using spectators point-of-interest mapping and other relevant contextual information during the 2014 season.

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