Fintech and football might not strike you as a natural pairing but Croatian company Aircash might challenge you to think twice.
An EU-authorised fintech valid in 27 EU countries with a user base of over one million, Aircash is a mobile wallet primarily for topping up and depositing cash from more than 250,000 locations across the EU. It is also for making payments, integrating a number of different services ranging from travel and purchasing event tickets to utility bills.
After launching in 2017 in Croatia, Aircash has expanded across Central Eastern Europe and became a licensed principal member of the MasterCard network in 2021. Sifted spoke to CEO Hrvoje Ćosić about their most recent strategic sponsorship of sports clubs and how this continues to set them apart in the fintech sector.
The perfect match
“We need to go to the people. And where do lots of people gather at once? Festivals and sports events,” says Ćosić.
Having already partnered with international music festivals like the American owned Croatian Ultra Europe Festival, Aircash decided to break into sports. It forged partnerships with the basketball club Baskonia and football club Alavés in Spain, before announcing its most recent partnership with the football club Hellas Verona in Serie A. Based in the historic Italian city Verona, they aim to harness both its “sports and cultural spirit”.
We need to go to the people. And where do lots of people gather at once?
Ćosić says that fintech and football are a match made in heaven because Aircash’s customers are “the younger population — they are travelers, adventurers and are often involved in sport”.
“Ultimately, our customers and their fans are the same people — and we can offer them great value,” he says.
Hellas Verona fans will be able to purchase everything from food, beverages and merchandise at the game to online dedicated fan shops using the platform. But several steps further, fans will also be able to use Aircash for public transportation — buses, trains and city cars — as well as taking cash out, making bank transfers and getting promotions for tickets to associated events put on by the partnership.
“Our focus is building an ecosystem around their show,” says Ćosić, adding that with this approach, Aircash are finding ways to “connect with the club fans not only for 90 minutes on a Sunday afternoon but seven days a week.”
Global reach
By fostering these specific place-based business ecosystems, Aircash are also reaching global audiences.
“This is also about global marketing and expanding brand awareness,” says Ćosić.
He’s proud to have the Aircash brand featured on Verona’s main football jersey. “Hellas Verona are really great, business oriented partners,” he says, adding that it is also a shoo-in to a broader market in Italy and beyond, as football is the most popular sport in Europe.
“What we’re doing is new. This is so much more than pure sponsorship. We’re learning how best to grow the technology around the Verona fan base,” he continues. In doing so, the club is recognising that a great team isn’t made simply by investing in the players but everything around them.
After all, Italo Zanzi, the executive president of Hellas Verona FC, tells Sifted that the “Gialloblù fans are the strength and soul of the club”, embodying “the true meaning of 'passion'".
Gialloblù fans are the strength and soul of the club
“In recent years, the Club’s commercial partnerships were focused primarily at the local and national level. This collaboration represents a significant step forward for our Club — our first international partnership — as we join forces with a dynamic and innovative company that shares our values of passion, identity and a bold vision for the future,” he says.
“From the very first meeting, it was clear that together we could build a path that combines sporting tradition with technological innovation, creating a useful service for our fans, their families and for the citizens of Verona as a whole.”
Next on the horizon for Aircash? Ćosić says that as well as continuing to improve their core business made up of payments, online shopping and retail network where people can deposit cash, it will soon be launching a new platform for trading on the stock market.
But the Hellas Verona partnership offers a portal into the scope of their ambitions, building an expansive, global customer-based around passionate, loyal communities and fans. And for that reason, you can expect to see similar partnerships to that with Hellas Verona springing up in other territories soon.
