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Curve (payment card)

Topic: Finance

 From HandWiki - Reading time: 5 min
Short description: Payment card
Curve
An example of a beta Curve card, with the MasterCard logo and details (not real) shown
Location United Kingdom
 Ireland
LaunchedFebruary 2016 (2016-02) (open beta)
Websitewww.curve.com

Curve (also known as the Curve card) is a payment card that aggregates multiple payment cards through its accompanying 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]

History

Curve, which owns and operates the card and for which the card is named, was founded in 2015 by Shachar Bialick.[2] The company secured seed funding of United States dollar 2 million in December 2015.[3] An open beta for iOS users in the "business community" was launched in February 2016.[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]

At Wired Money in 2017, Curve was judged the winning startup by a panel of three judges.[7] In July 2017, it was still in beta testing.[8]

It launched in Ireland in January 2018. At that time, it remained based in London. When it launched in the UK, it had a waiting list of 50,000.[9] Curve went live in the UK in January 2018.[10] In December 2018, it had a US expansion planned.[11] Support for American Express was reintroduced in late January 2019 on a top-up basis.[12] When Amex blocked several thousand customers from using Curve's services that week, on February 1, 2019, it was reported that Curve was considering suing Amex,[13] alleging anti-competitive action.[14] 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.[15]

Curve card and app

Using the mobile app, users link their debit and credit cards to the Curve card.[16] 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[17] and Android.[18]

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.[19][20] In 2018, it added a "zero fees" feature for spending internationally.[21]

In October 2018, the company said it was aiming to become "the Amazon of banking."[22]

For a time from January 2019 Curve supported American Express,[23] but this was later discontinued.[24]

In April 2020, Curve launched the first numberless card in Europe.[25][non-primary source needed]

In September 2021, Curve launched a new Buy Now Pay Later feature branded Curve Flex.[26]

In January 2022, Curve partnered with Huawei to enable contactless payments on HMS enabled Huawei smartphones with AppGallery via Huawei Wallet in Europe.[27]

Controversy

In November 2019, Business Insider reported Curve had failed to disclose to crowdfund investors that just 14% of its customers were using Curve once a month or more;[28] Curve had raised more than $7 million through crowdfunding in September 2019. According to the article, only 72,000 of Curve's stated 500,000 customers were using its product even once a month. The company did not respond when approached by Business Insider for comment. The issue was reported in Wikipedia's Curve (payment card) article, Controversy section (this section) on 28 November 2019, but the section was blanked on 2 and 3 December 2019, and fully reinstated with additions on 9 February 2020. The Telegraph reported that day that Curve was accused of removing details of the Business Insider story from the Wikipedia article.[29]

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. http://uk.businessinsider.com/the-cofounder-of-transferwise-has-invested-in-a-mysterious-fintech-startup-2015-12. Retrieved 15 January 2018. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 O'Hear, Steve (December 10, 2015). "Stealthy London Startup Curve Raises $2M From Notable Fintech Backers". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2015/12/10/below-the-curve/. 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. https://venturebeat.com/2016/02/16/meet-curve-the-latest-london-fintech-firm-that-wants-to-simplify-your-digital-banking/. 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. https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/16/curvergence/. 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. ↑ Charlie Taylor, January 17, 2018 ’Connected finance’ start-up Curve launches services in Ireland, Irish Times
  10. ↑ Jon Fingas, January 1, 2018 Curve's payment-switching smart card goes live in the UK, Engadget
  11. ↑ 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
  12. ↑ Steve O'Hear, January 2019 Curve, the all-your-cards-in-one app, adds support for Amex, TechCrunch
  13. ↑ Nikou Asgari and Martin Coulter, February 1, 2019 Fintech firm Curve threatens Amex with legal action, Financial Times
  14. ↑ Steve O'Hear, January 2019 Amex blocks Curve as the fintech startup vows to fight 'anti-competititive' decision, TechCrunch
  15. ↑ "Curve brings back Red Metal card" (in en). 2021-04-28. https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/87332/curve-brings-back-red-metal-card. 
  16. ↑ Sewraz, Reena (28 January 2018). "Curve card review: is this 'smart' card worth going for?". Which?. https://www.which.co.uk/news/2018/01/curve-card-review-is-this-smart-card-worth-going-for/. 
  17. ↑ Lewis Painter, April 5, 2016 Curve Card review: An interesting Apple Pay alternative, MacWorld
  18. ↑ "Curve: The Right Way To Pay – Apps on Google Play" (in en). https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.imaginecurve.curve.prd&hl=en_GB. 
  19. ↑ Christian, Bonnie (18 May 2017). "Mobile wallet Curve launches 'time travel' tool to let you 'shop in the past'". Wired UK. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/curve-time-travel. Retrieved 16 January 2018. 
  20. ↑ Kharpal, Arjun (3 July 2017). "Fintech app Curve lets you change the account you pay with after you've made a purchase". CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/03/curve-go-back-in-time-change-account-you-pay-with-after-purchase.html. Retrieved 16 January 2018. 
  21. ↑ Steve O'Hear Curve, the all-your-cards-in-one app, adds 'zero fees' when spending abroad, TechCrunch
  22. ↑ Arjun Kharpal, October 5, 2018 Fintech firm Curve looking to raise $50 million to become the ‘Amazon of banking’, CNBC
  23. ↑ O'Hear, Steve (28 January 2019). "Curve, the all-your-cards-in-one app, adds support for Amex". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/28/curve-amex/. 
  24. ↑ "I can't add a card to the Curve app". 3 January 2022. https://help.curve.com/i-can't-add-a-card-to-the-curve-app-SJefrdhIu. 
  25. ↑ https://www.curve.com/blog/first-numberless-cards-in-europe/
  26. ↑ "Curve joins in on the "buy now, pay later" pie - Latest News" (in en). https://fintechcompass.net/news/curve-flex/. 
  27. ↑ Ro. "Huawei partners with Curve to enable contactless payments on its phones". https://www.gsmarena.com/huawei_partners_with_curve_to_make_contactless_payments_possible_on_hms_phones-news-52758.php. 
  28. ↑ Coulter, Martin (November 27, 2019). "Leaked numbers show $200 million fintech startup Curve has far fewer active users than the number of 'customers' it has claimed". Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/curve-fintech-startup-leaked-active-users-crowdfunding-2019-11?r=US&IR=T. Retrieved 28 November 2019. 
  29. ↑ Cook, James (9 February 2020). "Top banking apps Starling Bank and Curve accused of editing their Wikipedia pages". https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2020/02/09/top-banking-apps-starling-bank-curve-accused-editing-wikipedia/. 



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