For today’s attraction guests, convenience, personalization, and immediacy are not luxuries—they’re expectations. Yet many operators are still using legacy payment systems, stored value, and generic communication tools that limit revenue and frustrate guests.
Vantage’s SmartPay ecosystem—comprising SmartPay, MyCart, and SmartNotify—was designed to revolutionize how guests pay, shop, and interact during their visit.
The Challenge
Operators across waterparks, theme parks, and resorts face common obstacles:
- Guests fumble with cash or cards, slowing down lines and reducing purchases.
- Stored value systems leave guests with unused balances and operators with refund headaches.
- No seamless way for families or groups to share payment access or set spending limits.
- Physical credit card use increases fraud risk.
- Operators lack visibility into guest behavior and cannot act on sales data in real-time.
- Marketing messages are broad, untargeted, and ineffective in driving action.
The Vantage Solution
SmartPay is more than a payment tool—it’s a secure, connected commerce and engagement ecosystem made up of:
SmartPay: Tokenized, Cashless Payments
- Guests upload their credit card once, then link it to a wristband, mobile device, or hotel key.
- Transactions are direct to card—no stored value or refund process needed.
- Guests can share access with friends or family and set transaction limits.
- Tokenization ensures no card data is stored, reducing fraud risk.
MyCart: Mobile Commerce Made Simple
- A mobile in-venue store where guests can buy services and upgrades directly from their app.
- Linked to SmartPay for seamless payment—no need to re-enter card details.
- Upsells like front-of-line access or reserved seating are just a tap away and automatically sync to the guest’s wearable.
- Provides operators a new sales channel to increase average spend per guest.
SmartNotify: Real-Time, Personalized Engagement
- Guests receive curated push notifications based on behavior, visit history, or real-time conditions.
- Instead of generic messages based on demographics or location, SmartNotify uses system triggers and business rules to deliver one-to-one communication.
- Operators can send targeted discounts, alerts, and upsells—boosting guest satisfaction and real-time conversion.
- Creates a new marketing channel that operates dynamically during a guest’s visit.
Why It’s Innovative
Vantage’s integrated solution addresses guest needs before, during, and after each purchase—removing friction at every stage. Unlike traditional POS or stored value systems, the SmartPay suite enables:
- Faster transactions that reduce queues and increase sales.
- Real-time engagement with highly relevant messages.
- On-the-go shopping and upgrades through MyCart.
- Personalized and flexible payment access for families and groups.
- Total visibility into spending behaviors for smarter, faster operational decisions.
The combination of tokenized payments, mobile shopping, and personalized communication is unique in the attractions space—offering a level of connected convenience that mirrors the best of modern e-commerce.
The SmartPay ecosystem—featuring SmartPay, MyCart, and SmartNotify—has delivered measurable, real-world impact at Atlantis Aquaventure:
Refund lines have been eliminated, as leftover stored-value balances are no longer part of the guest journey. Every transaction goes directly to the guest’s tokenized credit card, streamlining end-of-day operations and improving guest satisfaction.
Tap-to-pay adoption has surged: Usage of SmartPay as a payment method has increased by 84% year-over-year compared to 2024, signaling strong guest trust and enthusiasm for the frictionless experience.
Guests report greater ease, flexibility, and satisfaction. From faster park entry to bypassing lines for upsells and add-ons via the app and self-serve kiosks, the SmartPay ecosystem simplifies every interaction—on-site and in-app.
Together, these results highlight how SmartPay doesn't just improve transactions—it transforms the entire guest experience while delivering operational efficiency and new revenue streams for the operator.
The SmartPay ecosystem transforms transactions into personalized experiences. By merging payments (SmartPay), in-app purchasing (MyCart), and real-time engagement (SmartNotify), Vantage enables operators to create intuitive, seamless guest journeys while boosting operational efficiency and per-capita revenue.
SmartPay is more than a modern payment system—it’s a commerce engine for the next generation of guest experiences.
Partners
- Atlantis Dubai was the pilot site for SmartPay, working closely with the Vantage team to align the system with on-the-ground operational needs.
- Adyen leads the payment processing on site. Vantage integrated into the Adyen ecosystem to provide the payment processing methodology.
- Gateway is the ticketing system on site and Vantage created an integration to pull entitlement information after payment through adyen was created
- WhiteWater, Vantage’s parent company, supported the broader integration with slide dispatch systems and helped create a unified guest journey across touchpoints.
- The Vantage Team led the development, testing, and rollout of the SmartPay module, customizing it for the unique needs of high-volume venues.
