Global payment technology company Nuvei (TSX: NVEI and NVEI.U) is clear on its ultimate goal: to provide the best payment experience to fans, merchants, teams and publishers.
On its way to achieving this, the firm chooses its partners carefully, prioritising shared goals and beliefs. Recently, Nuvei announced a partnership with esports-focused entertainment and technology company ESE Entertainment.
Watch Konrad Wasiela, ESE Entertainment Founder and Director and Dan Houl, Head of Esports, Gaming, Digital Payments at Nuvei, speaking about what’s behind this partnership in an interview moderated by Sam Cooke, Co-founder and Managing Director, Esports Insider.
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As a part of the deal, Nuvei agreed to sponsor ESE-owned esports organisation K1CK in the upcoming 2021 season. The collaboration includes jersey logo placement and inclusion in digital assets, as well as the integration of Nuvei’s payment-processing technology across ESE’s e-commerce and esports channels.
“As the esports ecosystem continues to grow, we’re excited to sponsor an iconic team like K1CK,” commented Philip Fayer, Chairman and CEO of Nuvei in a release. “Along with our deep experience in serving the online gaming and regulated sports betting industries internationally, we’re thrilled to join K1CK, given their similar history of excellence.”
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This partnership between ESE and Nuvei builds on a belief that payment solutions are a significant component of esports, necessary for success. It combines Nuvei’s practices in esports payment solutions with ESE Entertainment’s long-standing esports experience.
“Localised fintech partners on a global scale are vastly important for the esports ecosystem,” said Konrad Wasiela, ESE Entertainment Founder and Director. “As an esports organisation, you need a proper payment provider. Nuvei provides us with a world-class transaction platform, a critical piece in further monetising our esports and gaming assets globally.”
To Nuvei, one of the things that make this alliance a great fit is the combination of global and regional approaches. ESE is diversified across several markets and focuses on bridging between Europe, Asia, and North America. Partnership with Nuvei thus facilitates the demand for localised payments on a global transaction platform.
Dan Houl, Head of Esports, Gaming, Digital Payments at Nuvei, sees great potential in the company’s latest partner: “ESE has everything to be one of the global esports leaders and that’s why we took the chance to invest all our efforts into securing this partnership. Plus, it’s a way for us to make K1CK visible worldwide and to enable players to access the organisation.
“If there’s a chance that an esports organisation has a pool of talents coming from all over the world, it means that it must have a financing system that can cover different territories. That is just one of many ways Nuvei supports ESE,” Houl added.
ESE’s Wasiela mentions a well-known issue of delayed payments among esports organisations and tournament organisers: “I’ve heard horror stories of teams not getting paid or of delayed winnings. The industry is extremely fragmented and there’s a lack of professionalism. Our goal as a company is to bring more standardisation by bringing in infrastructure. We want to show the esports community that there is a better way to do things.
“If you’re a tournament organiser like us and you don’t have the proper infrastructure with good partners on the fintech side, it’s just not possible to succeed, not even money can combat that,” he said. “That’s why we created this core foundation which we can further scale and build on.”
Wasiela highlights consistency as the best approach towards gaining the trust of the community. “We have to treat the esports athletes the same way we treat traditional athletes. We need to collectively work together and turn esports into a champions’ league, where there is enough professionalism and players are looked after, prize pools are being paid, sponsorships are coming in. That’s how it’s done the right way.”
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Nuvei and ESE Entertainment share the same beliefs on the importance of payment systems, along with the same goal of improving the esports space, by bringing in more professionalism, solid infrastructure, and ultimately building trust within the community.