Curve (payment card)

Curve
Location United Kingdom
Ireland
LaunchedFebruary 2016 (2016-02) (open beta)
Websitewww.curve.com

Curve is a fintech company who propose the Curve card, a payment card that aggregates multiple payment cards through its accompanying digital wallet mobile app, allowing a user to make payments and withdrawals from a single card. It lets you "switch the bank card you paid with after each transaction is complete." Curve named this feature "Back in time".[1] The Curve company was acquired by Lloyds Banking Group in November 2025.

History

In 2015, Curve, which owns and operates the card and for which the card is named, was founded by Shachar Bialick.[2]

In December 2015, the company secured seed funding of $2 million.[3]

In February 2016, an open beta for iOS users in the "business community" was launched .[3][4]

In May 2016, Curve notified customers that it would no longer be able to support American Express after 31 May 2016, offering refunds.[5]

In December 2016, Curve announced that the app was made available for Android users.[6]

In June 2017, at Wired Money, Curve was judged the winning startup by a panel of three judges.[7]

In July 2017, it was still in beta testing.[8]

In January 2018, it launched in Ireland. At that time, it remained based in London.

In January 2018, Curve went live in the UK.[9] When it launched in the UK, it had a waiting list of 50,000.[10]

In October 2018, the company said it was aiming to become "the Amazon of banking."[11]

In December 2018, it had a US expansion planned.[12]

In late January 2019, support for American Express was reintroduced on a top-up basis.[13] From January 2019, or a time Curve supported American Express,[14] but this was later discontinued.[15]

On February 1, 2019, when Amex blocked several thousand customers from using Curve's services that week, it was reported that Curve was considering suing Amex,[16] alleging anti-competitive action.[17]

In 2019, Curve launched a metal card. The card was made of 18 grammes of stainless steel, and came in three colours: Blue Steel, Rose Gold, and Curve Red Limited Edition. Only 5,000 Limited-Edition Curve Red cards were printed in a single run.[18]

In April 2020, Curve launched the first numberless card in Europe.[19]

In March 2025, the fintech company Curve announced it had raised £37 million in funding from Hanaco Ventures. The British-Israeli founder and CEO of Curve, Shachar Bialick, said the funds would be invested into improving customer experience and establishing new partnerships.[20][21]

In September 2021, Curve launched a new Buy Now Pay Later feature branded Curve Flex.[22]

In January 2022, Curve partnered with Huawei to enable contactless payments on HMS enabled Huawei smartphones with AppGallery via Huawei Wallet in Europe.[23]

In October 2022, Curve partnered with Fidesmo to enable contactless payments with Fidesmo Pay wearables.[24] This makes it possible to use Fidesmo wearables like rings, bracelets and keyrings with any Mastercard or Visa card.[25]

In March 2025, the fintech company Curve announced it had raised £37 million in funding from Hanaco Ventures. The British-Israeli founder and CEO of Curve, Shachar Bialick, said the funds would be invested into improving customer experience and establishing new partnerships.[26][27]

In July 2025, Sky News reported that Lloyds Banking Group was in discussion to acquire Curve.[28] In November 2025, it was reported Lloyds Banking Group had signed a £120 million deal to acquire Curve.[29]

Curve card and app

Using the mobile app, users link their debit and credit cards to the Curve card.[30] A default card from which to make payments or withdrawals can then be set, while users can also switch between cards on the app prior to making payments or withdrawals. Transactions on the card are processed through the MasterCard network and can be made using EMV (chip), magnetic stripe or contactless payment.

The Curve app works for iOS[31] and Android.[32]

In July 2017, Curve rolled out a feature on the app allowing users to retroactively change their selected payment card for a transaction as old as 14 days.[33][34] In 2018, it added a "zero fees" feature for spending internationally.[35]

References

  1. ^ Paul Sawers, July 3, 2017 Back in time: Curve lets you switch the bank card you paid with after each transaction is complete, VentureBeat
  2. ^ Shead, Sam (December 10, 2015). "The cofounder of TransferWise has invested in a mysterious fintech startup". Business Insider. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  3. ^ a b O'Hear, Steve (December 10, 2015). "Stealthy London Startup Curve Raises $2M From Notable Fintech Backers". TechCrunch. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  4. ^ Sawers, Paul (16 February 2016). "Meet Curve, the latest London fintech firm that wants to simplify your digital spending". VentureBeat. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  5. ^ Kadhim Shubber, May 25, 2016 It’s no fun when Amex throws your startup a Curve ball, The Financial Times
  6. ^ O'Hear, Steve (December 16, 2016). "London fintech startup Curve brings mobile wallet and all-your-cards-in-one app to Android". TechCrunch. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  7. ^ Bonnie Christian, June 11, 2017 Meet the next generation of fintech startups set to revolutionise the world of finance, Wired
  8. ^ Jemima Kelly, Anna Irrera, July 3, 2017 UK startup Curve launches 'financial time travel', Reuters
  9. ^ Jon Fingas, January 1, 2018 Curve's payment-switching smart card goes live in the UK, Engadget
  10. ^ Charlie Taylor, January 17, 2018 ’Connected finance’ start-up Curve launches services in Ireland, Irish Times
  11. ^ Arjun Kharpal, October 5, 2018 Fintech firm Curve looking to raise $50 million to become the ‘Amazon of banking’, CNBC
  12. ^ Oliver Smith, December 6, 2018 Curve Hits 300,000 Users With U.S. Expansion Planned, But This All-In-One Card Is Still Too Clever For Its Own Good, Forbes
  13. ^ Steve O'Hear, January 2019 Curve, the all-your-cards-in-one app, adds support for Amex, TechCrunch
  14. ^ O'Hear, Steve (28 January 2019). "Curve, the all-your-cards-in-one app, adds support for Amex". TechCrunch.
  15. ^ "I can't add a card to the Curve app". Curve Help Center. 3 January 2022.
  16. ^ Nikou Asgari and Martin Coulter, February 1, 2019 Fintech firm Curve threatens Amex with legal action, Financial Times
  17. ^ Steve O'Hear, January 2019 Amex blocks Curve as the fintech startup vows to fight 'anti-competitive' decision, TechCrunch
  18. ^ "Curve brings back Red Metal card". Finextra Research. 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  19. ^ "Your ultimate wallet". www.curve.com.
  20. ^ Emanuel-Burns, Cameron (18 March 2025). "Curve lands £37m investment led by Hanaco Ventures". FinTech Futures. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  21. ^ Reynolds, John (15 July 2025). "The soldier-turned-fintech founder wanting to take a bite out of Apple". Tech.eu. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  22. ^ "Curve joins in on the "buy now, pay later" pie - Latest News". Fintech Compass. Retrieved 2022-05-07.
  23. ^ Ro. "Huawei partners with Curve to enable contactless payments on its phones". GSMArena. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  24. ^ "Curve and Fidesmo unveil wearable payments partnership". Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  25. ^ "Fidesmo Support". Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  26. ^ Emanuel-Burns, Cameron (18 March 2025). "Curve lands £37m investment led by Hanaco Ventures". FinTech Futures. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  27. ^ Reynolds, John (15 July 2025). "The soldier-turned-fintech founder wanting to take a bite out of Apple". Tech.eu. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  28. ^ Kleinmann, Mark (July 12, 2025). "Lloyds Banking Group in talks to buy digital wallet provider Curve". Sky News. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  29. ^ "Lloyds facing Curve shareholder rebellion over £120 million acquisition". Finextra Research. 2025-11-17. Retrieved 2025-11-17.
  30. ^ Sewraz, Reena (28 January 2018). "Curve card review: is this 'smart' card worth going for?". Which?. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  31. ^ Lewis Painter, April 5, 2016 Curve Card review: An interesting Apple Pay alternative, MacWorld
  32. ^ "Curve: The Right Way To Pay – Apps on Google Play". play.google.com. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
  33. ^ Christian, Bonnie (18 May 2017). "Mobile wallet Curve launches 'time travel' tool to let you 'shop in the past'". Wired UK. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  34. ^ Kharpal, Arjun (3 July 2017). "Fintech app Curve lets you change the account you pay with after you've made a purchase". CNBC. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  35. ^ Steve O'Hear Curve, the all-your-cards-in-one app, adds 'zero fees' when spending abroad, TechCrunch
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.