Our Guide to NFC Season Tickets
What is NFC?
Near Field Communication. It allows two devices (e.g. phone and a turnstile) to communicate with each other if they are ‘near’.
How does it work?
The turnstile will read the ticket in the same way as a contactless payment. It does not scan a barcode or a QR code. It will unlock the turnstile if the ticket is open on your phone and you hold your phone ‘near’ the reader.
Why?
The Premier League made the decision to move to digital ticketing. At the time the Premier League referenced COVID when they asked clubs to make the switch, although some feel the switch was inevitable. An NFC digital pass should give West Ham supporters an improved digital ticketing experience, in comparison to last season. It will be quicker and easier to get through the turnstiles.
How many times do I download it?
A season ticket holder will just need to download the pass once. Adding the pass to your phone before the start of the season is all you need to do. The pass will update as each game approaches; displaying a ticket for the coming game.
What if I have multiple tickets on one email account?
If you have multiple tickets, for example for you and your children, you can download them all to your phone if you wish. Then open and present each ticket to let people through. Alternatively you can send the tickets on. For example, your child may have a smartphone so you could email their ticket to them.
What if someone else uses my ticket?
Supporters should be aware that the terms and conditions they sign up to, when purchasing a ticket include the following:
‘Season Tickets are issued for your sole use and you shall not sell, dispose of, assign, transfer, lend or otherwise deal with the Season Ticket or the benefit of it to any other person without the prior written consent of the Club.’
Please note it seems it is possible for the NFC ticket to be downloaded to multiple devices. If someone else downloads your ticket (for example if two people share an email account) and uses it, it would not work again for that game. Once it has been ‘scanned’ for a game it cannot be scanned again. We believe the tickets would then update on both phones for the following game and be ready to be used again for that next fixture.
What if I want to transfer my ticket for one game?
The club permit ticket transfer via ticket forwarding. This allows you to send a single match ticket (from your season ticket) to someone else. That other person would not have access to your season ‘pass’ only a ‘pass’ generated for your ticket. This pass would just give them access to the one game you have forwarded. If you forward your ticket and it is accepted, you cannot use your original NFC season ticket pass for that one game.
How do I transfer my ticket for one game?
- The recipient needs a client reference number. If they don’t have one, they will need to sign up to a West Ham account. Sign up is free and you are assigned a client ref number when you sign up. You can do this via the club website.
- As the season ticket holder, you log in to your West Ham account to transfer the ticket and check your network. If the intended recipient is not in your network, add them in.
- Shortly before each fixture, ticket forwarding will ‘open’ for that fixture. Select your profile and ‘view account menu’ in your West Ham account. Click ‘ticketing’ and ‘manage tickets’. Once ticket forwarding is open for each fixture, the option to forward a ticket for that fixture will appear here.
- Select the supporter you wish to forward the ticket to, from your network.
- The recipient must accept the ticket via their West Ham account.
What if I don’t have a smartphone or I am unable to use a smartphone?
This is the relevant extract from the guidance on the club website. This was published on 6 April 2022.
The Club is also conscious that a small number of Season Ticket Holders may not have access to a smartphone and we will continue to be inclusive and make sure we do everything we can to support all of our fans. Those Season Ticket Holders who do not have access to a smartphone will be able to request a physical Stadium access card with their photograph on ahead of the 2022/23 season.
This is the link to the full guidance from that section of the season ticket FAQs:
How will I access the Stadium for 2022/23? : Hammers Help (freshdesk.com)
