The Phoenix Suns have announced a wide-ranging agreement with PayPal, in which the digital payment platform will become the NBA team’s official payment partner and the jersey sponsor.
As part of the deal, PayPal will be built into the Suns’ mobile app for merchandise, concessions and parking purchases as part of an attempt to make Talking Stick Arena more of a cashless environment. The facility will also have PayPal card readers installed to enable payments.
The Suns believe this move will enhance the game-day experience. “With sports fans, every second counts. There’s a sense of urgency. The goal is for payments to not take away from that urgency,” Robert Clarkson, the general manager of PayPal North America, told ESPN. “When someone orders a beer and people have to pass the beer down the aisle and then the money back and forth, it involves 25 people and takes away from their experience.”
The WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury will also feature PayPal’s logo on their jersey beginning in 2019.