Paysafe Steps Into Racing With New Sponsorship

A “Fox Trot” strip once featured 10-year-old Jason Fox observing a NASCAR race and wondering how those billboards managed to move around the track, and how those human-shaped billboards steered said billboards. There’s a lot of promotion in NASCAR, and it’s not that much different in the IndyCar circuit. Paysafe recently took a step into this field itself, as it filled us in on its plans to be part of the billboard races…or rather, the Verizon IndyCar series.

This isn’t the first time Paysafe has moved into this market, but it is the first time it’s moved in so completely. Last year, Paysafe sponsored Zach Claman De Melo, a Canadian rookie driver, for one race. The effect was apparently so worthwhile for Paysafe that it stepped up its involvement to become a primary and naming sponsor to two drivers for the entire 2018 IndyCar season.

Not only will De Melo continue to benefit from Paysafe’s patronage, but also, so too will Pietro Fittipaldi, grandson of Emerson Fittipaldi. The two drivers will be sharing duties on one car, the one Paysafe sponsors. The season starts March 11 in St. Petersburg, Florida, and carries on to its final race in Sonoma, California, on September 16.

Oscar Nieboer, chief marketing officer with Paysafe, noted “Indy car racing is extremely high profile in North America and this is a region where we see significant growth opportunities for our business. It makes strategic sense to build on our initial involvement in last year’s season, and make our full debut as a leading partner in the 2018 season. We very much see this partnership program as a central component of our North American brand strategy.”

While some here might question Paysafe’s choice to promote its brand of global payments provision services via IndyCar racing, there’s no doubt the North American market is a major one, and making a push on that market should yield some sound, profitable returns. It probably would have been a safer move to promote on baseball instead, but then, that might have been out of Paysafe’s price range. IndyCar might have been the perfect synthesis of cost-effective and audience-reaching.

Only time will tell how good Paysafe’s plan is here, but there’s a very good chance of at least some return here.