VISA Partners With The WSL

Ever dreamt of paying for product with your face? Well, coming to the Quik and Roxy Pro Gold Coast, now you can with the WSL’s recent partnership with, wait for it…Visa–the proud sponsor of almost everything. But first, thank Sage Erickson–mostly for her darling existence–second, thank the margarine laced voice of the WSL, Joey Turpel, for their live stream to the SXSW festival in Austin, TX from the Goldy, which kicked off this partnership.

What does this all mean? Did the WSL just slip two feet into Samsung’s bedtime slippers? No. Did they find an official payment partner? Yes. According to Mark Noonan, Chief Commercial Officer at the WSL, they’re thrilled! “We are thrilled to welcome Visa, one of the most iconic brands in the world, to the WSL partner family,” said Mark. “We look forward to working with them to showcase their innovative payment technologies to our fans at the Quiksilver and Roxy Pro Gold Coast and those watching the live global broadcast.”

Sunnies that are worth whatever's in your bank account. Photo: CNBC 

Visa’s knee deep with Corona, Airbnb, Jeep and more in the WSL sponsorship pool. Less importantly, however, added the implementation of innovative payment technologies with, “Payment enabled sunglasses. The stylish shades feature contactless payment capability, merging function and fashion for surfing fans, and eliminating the need to carry cash or cards on the beach.” And with this new face of technology, sunglass thievery just became a lot more lucrative. This product is not available to the public, however, this is their test run to see if there is a market for such a device. 

Oh, so that's how you do it. Photo: CNBC

In addition to pairing your credit card with your face, the “WSL will also be producing a series of vignettes highlighting how Visa can help enable the travel experience which is so fundamental to surf culture.”

“Visa is excited to make waves in the surfing world with a sponsorship of the Quiksilver & Roxy Pro, the first stop on the 2017 World Surf League Championship Tour,” said Chris Curtin, Chief Brand & Innovation Marketing Officer at Visa. “Surfing culture represents a lifestyle without barriers, and Visa helps fans achieve a life unbound – whether it’s paying with their sunglasses or travelling around the world.”

Is there any better market to test drive wearable product than WSL fans? Probably, but maybe not. *Glances at GPS watch*