JUE 28 DE MARZO DE 2024 - 16:44hs.
Paulo Bacelete Gerber, firm’s CEO

“GamersCard solves all the difficulties to play on iGaming and eSports sites”

GamersCard is an international prepaid MasterCard card, designed especially for gamers, which facilitates deposits on poker or betting platforms, in addition to being practical and quick when it comes to acquiring credits and products from the main games and eSports sites. In an exclusive interview with GMB, Paulo Bacelete Gerber, CEO of the company, talks about innovations and exclusive benefits, online game tournaments with prizes for the winners and the goals of GamersCard, PokerStars partner and partypoker, among other operators.

GMB - How long has GamersCard existed and which are the advantages of being a member of the card?
Paulo Bacelete Gerber
- Our product was launched in January 2019, so we have just over one and a half years of life. It is an international prepaid MasterCard card, which works almost like a bank account, because in addition to being accepted in more than 2 billion establishments worldwide - both for face-to-face and online transactions - it also allows you to make bill payments (payment slips, concessionaires and taxes), withdrawals at ATMs, cell phone recharges, transfers between customers, among other features. That is, as a payment method it is a complete product, which solves all the day-to-day issues of our customers.

Our differentials also include a Benefits Club that offers GamersPoints (points that are distributed to customers based on the use of the card and that can be exchanged for more than 3000 products or cash-back) and our exclusive and awarded tournaments (yes! We have prizes for the winners of each tournament). We currently have weekly Poker, CS-Go and Lol tournaments. Customers love these benefits.

And speaking of iGaming, our card can be used on poker and sports betting sites without any difficulty or problem. We have implemented partnerships with PokerStars and partypoker, with several more in development. On these sites with which we already partner, customers can redeem their game and / or game credit balances in incredible conditions. Those who are already using it are loving it.

For the operators of iGaming sites, the advantages are concentrated in being able to offer a simple, fast and very affordable option for their customers to make deposits and redemptions on their sites and play with ease, without having to worry about cash-ins and cash-outs. All of this with a Brazilian card, operated in national currency (Reais) and without credit restrictions, since it is prepaid.

Until some years ago, the usual payment methods were debit, credit cards and boletos. Today, there is a huge variety of methods. What category does the GamersCard fall into?
GamersCard is a prepaid MasterCard card that must always be used in the credit function. In other words, for use on the MasterCard network, it works exactly like a credit card, but the consumption limit is determined by the amount the customer preloads on the card. It was made with the intention of making deposits and redemptions of iGaming sites feasible with security and convenience for both customers and sites.

And we offer several ways to charge the card, because in addition to the boletos and a very wide network of physical stores, our customers can recharge through bank transfers at no cost, and with the charge taking place in a few minutes. That is, no one needs to wait long to get in the game!

Was the GamersCard created to serve the gaming sector, since some brands do not allow payment of bets with credit card?
The GamersCard was created thinking about solving the difficulties of the public that we choose to serve and thinking about adding different advantages to them. In the specific case of the iGaming audience, yes, we thought about how to facilitate the access of Brazilians to the sites, enabling cash-ins and cash-outs very quickly and with super competitive prices.

In fact, credit cards are rarely accepted on iGaming sites, not only in Brazil but worldwide, due to card issuers' restrictions. As our product is prepaid and has very robust security controls, we consider the issues of default and fraud risks very well, thus enabling an absolutely adequate and specific alternative for this market.

 

 

One difficulty with credit cards is receiving credits for betting on websites. Is this solved with GamersCard?
Yes, and very advantageously for customers! Withdrawals are immediate (they only do not take place completely online when the partner site needs to carry out a check on the client's gambling account) and the amount paid for each client's chip or credit on the site is super competitive. I dare say it is the best option available.

Banks and even stores offer credit cards at no cost. How to offer a prepaid card with fee and win customers?
With clear and true advantages! Many of these free offers omit some hidden cost or, to have the advantages that the product can offer, you need to hire extra services. We believe that those who play want a game, and serious game! Thus, we created the winning tournaments, in which you play in a competitive and fun way, and still compete for prizes.

In addition to tournaments, our product has a points program, GamersPoints, which can be converted into thousands of products or cash-backs. Our special promotions are also fantastic: we already take customers to tournaments in Brazil and abroad, in addition to many other benefits that only the GamersCard can enjoy. The customer therefore pays to have access to this. When the client realizes that he is paying (little) for something that has a lot of value, he recognizes and feels in a fair relationship. Paying about R$ 8.00 (US$1.45) per month for all these advantages is quite fair.

How does Gamerscard compete with traditional credit cards? What does the user and operator benefit from GamersCard?
The advantages for users are numerous. In addition to tournaments and GamersPoints, they have a payment instrument in hand that allows they to pay all their bills. All of them! After all, the customer can pay boletos, bills, taxes, can recharge cell phones, transfers to other customers, withdrawals at ATM's, and all this with absolute control of their expenses. And with the card in hand, the customer pays for any product or service they consume in the more than 2 billion establishments affiliated to MasterCard worldwide, as our product is for international use.

The advantages of being a GamersCard customer still include all of the brand's advantage programs, such as the Surprise MasterCard, for example. With it, the customer can exchange points accumulated specifically in this program (in addition to GamersPoints ...) for products and services that are delivered twice by MasterCard partners. That's right! With a few points you buy one and take two products or services offered within this program.

The operators of iGaming sites, on the other hand, give their customers the possibility of making cash-ins and cash-outs with total ease and security through their GamersCards. All in an electronic way, super safe and convenient for their customers and for the websites themselves. And, as our customers are de facto gamers, nothing better for sites than being able to offer GamersCards holders the possibility to use their cards on their sites.

 



Was GamersCard also created for the eSports sector?
Yes, it was. Our idea is to embrace and provide benefits for the entire gamer community. From the definition of the name, through all the benefits, we always think about the entire gaming audience, and eSports are an important part of this universe. We have added partnerships that make a lot of sense for this audience, some of them are right in the oven ... But we already have the weekly eSports tournaments since April last year. We initially had a partnership with Battlefy, a Canadian eSports tournament platform provider and, recently, we entered into a partnership with Gamers Club, a Brazilian tournament platform that is highly recognized in our market. In addition, our points program allows to redeem gamers items, such as mouses, keyboards and computers.

We have also been sponsors of the Fúria team since mid-2019 and we have taken many actions together with them to benefit our customers. We have also sponsored PlayMatch, which promotes the “Liga Escolar de Lol” nationwide, which was a remarkable experience for all of us. Recently, during the pandemic, we sponsored a super gamer event held by Casa do Zezinho, with the participation of several celebrities from the artistic world and eSports. It was very nice, because we were able to contribute to super important causes in the area of ​​education, which is one of our main concerns because, after all, we want to provide our customers with the possibility of seeking with us ideas and suggestions for good practices to deal with their money.

What are GamersCard's goals from now until the end of the year?
GamersCard has ambitious growth goals. We have invested a lot in our product, in partnerships with new iGaming sites and with providers of products and services for this community. Our intention is to close 2020 with 4 times the number of customers with which we started the year and with double or triple partner sites. We are very close to this. The financial volume transacted with our cards has already grown almost 90% over the course of this year and we should close 2020 with a total growth of around 150%. We are very happy with the results and certain that we will grow even more in 2021.

Not to mention that we have a lot of news in development! The world of payment methods, financial services and the world of games (iGaming and eSports) offers several great avenues of opportunities, and we are treading all that we can, always seeking to serve in a very specific and differentiated way this incredible community that are gamers.

How does an operator interested in adding your services to his business contact you?
Just send an email to our "Contact Us", accessible on our website (www.gamerscard.com.br). And usually I make the first dealings with the sites myself. To make it even easier, follow the link: https://gamerscard.zendesk.com/hc/pt-br/requests/new .

Source: Exclusive Games Magazine Brasil