OFT investigates Visa-Olympics sponsorship deal

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and European Commission are investigating the sponsorship deal between Visa and the 2012 Olympics and the Paralympics.

The deal means UK citizens must pay for online ticket sales from the London 2012 site using a Visa card. Overseas visitors will be able to buy tickets from their Olympics committees using other payment methods however.

But everyone will be forced to use Visa if they are buying tickets, goods in shops or getting cash from ATMs at Olympic venues.

Visa said that people who don’t currently have a Visa debit or credit card can get a Visa prepaid card, or choose to pay by cash or cheque.

Legal experts we talked to said such sponsorship deals were not unusual but the contract between Visa and the Olympic Committee could restrict consumer choice.

They said people rarely choose to use a Visa or Mastercard as most banks offer no choice based on brand alone.

Depending on the issuing bank, pre-paid cards can be free or cost up to £7.50 to buy.

In 2006 the EU intervened over restricted payment methods at the World Cup hosted in Germany. Fifa which had a sponsorship deal with Mastercard then agreed to introduce more payment methods.

The OFT said it and the European Commission “are aware of these issues and are currently in discussion about what action, if any, should be taken.”

There is also the issue of protection. Mastercard has the biggest share of the credit card market in the UK. So buying tickets online using a pre-paid or debit card will not give the buyer protection under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act (CCA).

Visa said it did have a Consumer Protection policy for debit and pre-paid cards, but upholding claims is up to individual banks.