Stablecoin payments for e-sports

Why e-sports payments are hard

An e-sports organisation is international from day one. A roster can span several countries, a tournament pays winners wherever they live, and some sponsors would rather pay in USDT or USDC than send a wire. Some players would rather be paid that way too.

Bank wires to some of those countries are slow and costly, and a payout that arrives late after a final is noticed by everyone. Sentvia gives you one set of accounts in your organisation's own name to receive from sponsors and pay everyone else, in fiat or in stablecoins.

Who it is for

• Teams and organisations paying players, coaches and staff, and receiving sponsorship and winnings.
• Tournament and league organisers paying prize pools to teams and players across many countries.
• Player and talent agencies collecting fees and passing on what their players are owed.
• Event and content producers paying casters, editors and production crews.

Receiving sponsorship and prize money

1. Tell us what is coming. The sponsor, the amount, and whether it arrives in USDT, USDC, EURC or fiat.
2. The sponsor pays to the address or account we give you. Stablecoins are screened on arrival.
3. Keep it or convert it. Hold the stablecoins to pay out later, or convert to fiat at a rate you approve and receive it into your named IBAN account.

Prize money a team wins at someone else's event arrives the same way, so all of your income sits in one dashboard.

Paying players, staff and partner teams

1. Add each payee as a beneficiary. A bank account or a wallet address. Our compliance team reviews each one once, with supporting documents such as the player's contract.
2. Choose how they are paid. USD, EUR, GBP or AED to a bank account, or USDT or USDC to a wallet. Fund it from stablecoins you received or from your fiat balance.
3. Approve and release. Your own approval rules apply before any funds leave.
4. The payee is paid over the rail for that currency, or on the blockchain for stablecoins.

Monthly player pay works like any regular payroll run once the roster is set up. For fees between teams, such as a buyout, send us the agreement with the first payment so it can be reviewed. Read more about first- and third-party payments and payment approval controls.

Processing times depend on currency, jurisdiction and bank rails used.

Paying out a prize pool

A prize pool is a batch of payouts that everyone is waiting for. Most of the delay comes from collecting details after the event, so do that work first:

• Collect each team's or player's payment details at registration, not after the final.
• Ask each one whether they want fiat or stablecoins, and in which currency or on which network.
• Send us the payees early, so beneficiary review is done before results are confirmed.
• Where a team splits its winnings, decide in advance whether you pay the team or each player, and put it in your rules.
• Take tax advice on withholding in the countries you pay into.

Compliance expectations

• Your organisation is verified first. We check the company, who owns and controls it, and how money flows through it before the account opens.
• Every stablecoin payment is screened on the blockchain, incoming and outgoing, for risks such as sanctioned addresses and illicit services. See how stablecoin AML screening works.
• Source of funds for larger payments. We may ask where a sponsor's stablecoins came from. Our guide to source of funds for stablecoin payments lists the evidence that answers it.
• Each payee is reviewed once as a beneficiary, and monitoring runs in real time on every transaction.

Our compliance and regulation page sets out our registrations.

Currencies

Payees who want stablecoins can be paid in USDT or USDC directly. Each fiat pair has its own page, starting with USDT to USD and USDT to EUR. See all supported currencies and stablecoins.

Which products fit

• Multi-currency accounts. Hold USD, EUR, GBP and AED side by side, so you can pay a player in the currency a sponsor paid in without converting twice.
• Named IBAN accounts. Accounts in your organisation's own legal name, provided through regulated banking partners.
• Payments. Payouts in fiat or stablecoins to approved payees, with approval controls before release.
• Prime OTC desk. For a single large conversion, such as a season's sponsorship or a full prize pool.

Payments, conversions and transaction history sit in one dashboard, on the web or in the Sentvia Pay app. Paying freelancers and staff outside e-sports works the same way; see paying overseas contractors, or browse the other industries we serve.

Before your next payout

• List everyone you pay and ask each one for fiat or stablecoins.
• Send us their details and contracts, so beneficiary review is done before the first payment.
• Decide which sponsor receipts you keep as stablecoins and which you convert.
• For a tournament, collect winners' details at registration.
• Take tax advice on prize money and player pay in each country.

This page explains how Sentvia processes payments. It is not investment, legal or tax advice.