AZ moves away from tokens with Borro
AZ Alkmaar becomes the first football club in the Netherlands to switch to a fully digital deposit system for reusable cups.
Starting next season, AZ Alkmaar will replace its traditional token system for reusable cups with Borro's digital deposit system. By automating refunds and removing the need for tokens, the club aims to create a smoother match day experience for both fans and staff. We spoke with Jaap van Hulten, Operational Director at AZ, about the reasoning behind the partnership and the club’s broader vision for the future.
How do you currently work with reusable cups, and what are the main challenges?
Like many clubs in the Netherlands, we currently use a token-based system where fans can exchange their cup for a token. In practice, however, this comes with quite a bit of hassle. At the bar, it means extra steps: counting cups, handing out tokens, exchanging them… This slows down service and causes frustration among fans. On top of that, it's difficult to get a clear view of actual return flows and figures. So we were open to finding a way to make this process simpler and more transparent.
What ultimately convinced AZ to partner with Borro?
What convinced us was mainly the simplicity and speed of the system. By linking it to the payment process and automating deposit refunds, a large part of the operational challenges simply disappears. We also saw the system in action during a match day at Club Brugge, and were impressed by how smoothly everything ran - both for fans and for the staff behind the bar. On top of that, the data gives us the ability to continuously optimise the system and better understand what's happening on match days. That combination made it a logical choice for us.
How does this partnership fit within your broader vision as a club?
As a club, we invest heavily in both the fan experience and sustainability, but also in the ongoing development of our stadium and operations. We believe that data and smart technology will play an increasingly important role in that. With Borro, we're taking a step towards a future where we can organise our operations more efficiently, gain better insights, and at the same time offer a smoother experience to our fans.
Welcome on board, AZ!