VISA and FACEIT Announce $450,000 Esports Programme with Gazprombank

Visa and FACEIT have partnered with Gazprombank to launch the first esports card product for gamers actively engaged in Dota2 and CS:GO titles in Russia.

Gazprombank’s new FACEIT debit card by Visa will allow making everyday purchases, as well as give gamers exclusive access to tournaments on the FACEIT platform. Card holders will be able to take part in the competition for the prize pool in both disciplines of the FACEIT team game tournaments — Dota 2 and CS:GO.

Starting in June, $450,000 in prize money will be distributed among players within the first three months across several different tournament formats for CS:GO and Dota 2, both in FACEIT points and ruble cash prizes.

“In designing this product, we always stuck to the core question: ‘What does a player really want?’ The answer to this is surprisingly simple: the player wants to be rewarded for his success in the game. So we accepted the challenge of putting together a diverse, rich, exciting reward infrastructure that motivates players’ to become better while putting real tangible prizes into their hands when they win tournaments. With CS:GO and Dota hitting a peak of 1.3M and 800K concurrent players, we are saying to the world: come compete with us and get $450,000 worth of prizes!” Evgeniy Zelenyi, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Fintech at Visa Russia, said.

“We are very excited to launch the program with VISA and Gazprombank as our first partner in this world first collaboration. This program is a great example of how brands can connect with our community and significantly contribute to the development of competitive ecosystems which is something that is hugely important for FACEIT. The partnership aims to drive new competitive opportunities to esports players in Russia while also creating valuable content for CSGO and Dota2 players. It’s fantastic to partner with international industry leaders to create new initiatives,” Niccolo Maisto, Co-Founder & CEO of FACEIT, said.

“Following the trends in the banking business, Gazprombank once again relies on personalization. This time we chose a rapidly growing segment — the mass e-sports market in Russia. In partnership with Visa and FACEIT, we launched a unique card product for gamers, thanks to which we plan to significantly increase our customer base. I’m sure that the new card will be in demand, because now the e-sports audience in Russia has about 10–12 million people and is predicted to grow by 20% annually,” Alexey Popovich, First Vice President and member of the Management Board of Gazprombank, said.