Curve

Based in the UK, Curve provides banking services to customers via a mobile app which enables the consolidation of multiple credit and debit cards into one ‘smart’ card and facilitates payments among its customers. Curve provides cards under three tiers; 1) Curve Blue 2) Curve Black and 3) Curve Metal. Curve Blue is offered free of charge, while Curve Black and Curve Metal are priced at EUR 9.99 and EUR 14.99 per month respectively. Additional features offered under its paid packages include access to lower foreign exchange rates, 1% cashback from selected retailers, and insurance products. It also introduced Curve Flex, which allows customers to split any payment made in the past 12 months into installments.

The app also allows customers to add loyalty cards from retailers onto the app. The platform also provides a unique ‘time travel’ feature, which enables customers to change the account they used for past transactions (limited to the past 90 days), such as switching from debit to a credit card for a past payment. The app also provides detailed breakdowns on spending patterns across all cards registered under Curve. The company also operates a referral program, which provides cashback rewards of GBP 5, to both parties of the referral.

Key customers and partnerships

The company has partnered with digital wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay enabling customers to carry out contactless transactions. In August 2020, the company took its partnership with Samsung further, by collaboratively launching ‘Samsung Pay Card’; a card backed by Mastercard, and utilizes Curve’s technology to integrate all cards into one.

In December 2020, the company entered into a partnership with Plaid, a financial services company, to enable open banking. As a result, Curve’s customers would be able to connect their accounts and cards at nearly all financial institutions in the UK to its app, allowing Curve to provide real-time account balances for all linked accounts. As of September 2022, the company operated in 31 markets, across the UK and Europe and had over 4.5 million customers.

Funding and financials

In January 2021, the company raised USD 95 million in Series C funding, co-led by IDC Ventures, Fuel Venture Capital, and Vulcan Capital. In addition, it raised USD 71 million in an extended Series C round in September 2023. The funds were earmarked towards expanding its product offerings, improving its partnerships and customer experience. The company also secured a further USD 1 billion in debt funding from Credit Suisse in December 2022, with the funds geared towards scaling its lending business—Curve Flex–across the UK, EU, and the US.

In 2019, the company generated a revenue of GBP 5.9 million (doubling from the previous year), and incurred pre-tax losses of GBP 28.5 million.