Ticketek and Apple team up to eliminate paper tickets, starting at the 2019 State of Origin

There will be no such thing as losing a concert ticket, or keeping one for posterity, as Ticketek and Apple reveal new plans to eliminate paper passes.

First mobile phones did away with wallets. Now they’re eliminating tickets too.

Leading events group Ticketek has revealed plans to ditch paper tickets entirely and instead support virtual passes on smartphones and smartwatches that users can tap at the turnstile.

And the technology will be rolled out in time for the first State of Origin match in Queensland next month.

The Ticketek virtual ticketing solution, as demonstrated by Brisbane rugby league player Matt Gillett, will be available in time for the first State of Origin game this year.

The virtual ticketing solution will use the same secure technology that delivers Apple Pay on iPhones and smartwatches, and will be available after users purchase tickets online.

Buyers will have an option to tap an Apple Wallet icon to store the passes, which will automatically appear on their device screen when their phone senses they’ve arrived at the stadium.

Ticketek chief operating officer Cameron Hoy said the virtual tickets were more secure than paper versions and could help speed up queues waiting to enter a stadium.

“The introduction of tap-and-go tickets on iPhone and Apple Watch is a groundbreaking move away from traditional ticketing barcodes and scanning technologies,” he said.

The technology will debut at Suncorp Stadium on June 1 when the Queensland Reds take on the Argentine Jaguares in Super Rugby, and will also be available four days later for the first State of Origin game of the 2019 season.

The partnership between Apple and Ticketek does leave Android users out in the cold, however.

The deal also comes just one day after the National Australia Bank become the third major Australian bank to support Apple Pay, leaving only Westpac left to support the technology.

The deal represents a big turnaround for big banks after NAB, along with Westpac, the Commonwealth Bank, and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank argued in 2017 that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission should force Apple to allow their own payment technology on iPhones.

Both Samsung and Google also offer competing smartphone payment technologies.