Financial technology company Early Warning Services is making a play for sports enthusiasts, betting that fans' dedication to their teams will translate into loyalty to the company’s digital wallet Paze.
Scottsdale, Arizona-based EWS announced a partnership with New York City FC - one of New York City's two Major League Soccer teams - on Tuesday. This follows a similar partnership with the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA announced in September.
Sporting events are particularly appealing to payment companies because they generally involve multiple transactions and fans are often fiercely loyal to their teams, creating the possibility for repeat customers, Paze general manager Serge Elkiner said in a phone interview.
And live games “are one of the few remaining events where you have real life social interaction,” he added.
When New York City FC’s new stadium, Etihad Park, opens in 2027, fans will be able to buy tickets and make in-stadium purchases using Paze, which was named the soccer team's official online checkout and official digital wallet Tuesday as part of a multi-year agreement.
New York City FC — ‘FC’ stands for ‘Football Club,’ a nod to the word that most of the world uses for soccer — currently plays in Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. Etihad Park is being built in Queens.
EWS also runs the Zelle payment network and is jointly owned by seven major U.S. banks.
Fans attending sporting events tend to buy several items, Elkiner said, referencing the common beer, burger and jersey purchases.
Which means fans will see Paze as a prominent payment option several times in a single outing and the vast majority of those fans will return to the stadium, Elkiner said.
When finished, the park will also feature a food hall that has been dubbed the Paze City Square and will feature local dining options, the news release said.
Early Warning Services isn't the only sports team to try to ingratiate itself with sports fans. Allentown, Pennsylvania-based Shift4 Payments has been particularly aggressive in signing sports teams and major sports venues as clients. The payment processor’s customers include the Miami Dolphins, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL.
Fiserv’s Clover Sport also serves several well-known venues. The Milwaukee-based payments processor’s point-of-sale system is used in the Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, and Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which are home to the professional football teams the Cleveland Browns, the New Orleans Saints and the New England Patriots, respectively.
