Adyen Offers Cinemark Moviegoers More Payment Options

Adyen said in a Thursday (Sept. 19) press release that it is now the official payments platform for theater chain Cinemark.

The collaboration offers moviegoers increased payment options and ease of use, per the release. Adyen is powering payments on Cinemark’s website and mobile app, along with purchases made at the chain’s box offices, lobby kiosks and concessions counters.

“Partnering with Cinemark taps into exactly what Adyen does best — streamlining and unifying payments onto a single platform,” Adyen North America President Davi Strazza said in the release.

The partnership also covers payments at Cinemark’s in-theater restaurants and bars, and to Movie Club, the company’s monthly subscription program. Cinemark is also enabling the use of Network Tokens and has enrolled in Adyen’s built-in risk management solution that helps businesses prevent fraud, reduce costs and increase conversion, according to the release.

“By integrating Adyen’s sophisticated payment processing platform, we are increasing the flexibility of purchasing options for our guests and reducing friction in the moviegoing experience,” Cinemark Chief Financial Officer Melissa Thomas said in the release.

Adyen last month reported half-year earnings showing a surge in its Unified Commerce offering, with volumes up 29%. Hospitality was the fastest-growing segment in this category, up 55% from the first half of 2023.

During a conference call with analysts, Adyen CFO Ethan Tandowsky noted that Unified Commerce “is becoming more and more relevant as time goes by … not only to more verticals, but also by helping them provide the right experience to their own customer base.”

Meanwhile, in July, Cinemark saw its highest-ever domestic box office for a summer opening weekend with the release of “Deadpool & Wolverine.”

The film set records for both Cinemark XD and D-BOX motion seats, reflecting strong demand for immersive cinema experiences. It also drove the highest concessions revenue Cinemark has seen since the pandemic, fueled by robust sales of snacks and merchandise.

The return to theater-going contrasted with findings from the PYMNTS Intelligence report “How the World Does Digital,”  which found that video streaming was the No. 1 digital activity in seven of the 11 countries surveyed.