12 million: this was the total number of tickets that had been sold for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 20241.
For the first time in its history, the Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (OCOG) launched a single online ticketing platform available to the general public worldwide.
To meet this challenge, the OCOG turned to global payment technology partner Visa, and its banking partner, Groupe BPCE, a premium partner of Paris 2024. Payplug, as part of Groupe BPCE's Digital & Payments division, had processed the transactions from all over the world!
The challenge: 300 transactions per second across 178 countries
The OCOG had chosen a single online ticketing system for the sale of all Paris 2024 tickets, rather than relying on local intermediaries.
A world first, which had required the implementation of a payment system accessible to all buyers regardless of their country of origin, which could work with the main international card networks.
Another prerequisite: being able to keep up with the pace of 300 transactions per second, to ensure the ticket sales phases that followed the draw went smoothly.
A robust and secure payment infrastructure
Ticket sales had taken place in three phases for the Olympic Games (9.5 million tickets sold1) and one for the Paralympic Games (2.5 million tickets1), involving peak loads that had exceeded Payplug’s typical requirements.
We have accelerated the migration of our payment acquiring platform to the cloud, so we could mobilise IT capabilities as needed. In addition to offering greater computing and storage power, the cloud had remained the best bulwark against cyber-attacks.
Thanks to this evolution, the Payplug solution was now able to process up to 300 transactions per second2, an asset that also benefits all our retail and e-merchant customers!
In total, 3 million transactions had been processed with an average acceptance rate of 98%2, 6 points higher than the market average.
Thanks to our partnership with the Organising Committee, Visa and all stakeholders involved in the ticketing project, as well as our expertise within the payment chain, we had been able to support a smooth payment experience even during peak loads, regardless of the country of purchase.
Armand Dos Santos, CPTO / Payplug
A team of 50 experts mobilised
Exceptional events call for an exceptional measures: for two years, Groupe BPCE and Payplug had mobilised some fifty experts in the tech and anti-fraud sectors. Their mission: to design and develop a solution that meets the requirements of the OCOG, and to ensure its stability over time.
During each sales phase, an "active unit" (including Payplug employees, members of the OCOG and the official ticketing service provider for the Paris 2024 Games) had ensured the proper functioning of the ticketing system and the prevention of fraud.
In addition, Visa had selected Groupe BPCE to support acquiring of payments at official venues at the Games. To learn more, read this article.
You too can benefit from Payplug's expertise and payment performance. Contact us to find out more!
Source: 1COJOP, 2024 ; 2Payplug data, 2024
