Curve (payment card)

Curve, which owns and operates the card and for which the card is named, was founded in 2015 by Shachar Bialick.[3] The company secured seed funding of $2 million in December 2015.[4] An open beta for iOS users in the "business community" was launched in February 2016.[4][5] In May 2016, Curve notified customers that it would no longer be able to support American Express after 31 May 2016, offering refunds.[6] In December 2016, Curve announced that the app was made available for Android users.[7]

At Wired Money in 2017, Curve was judged the winning startup by a panel of three judges.[8] In July 2017, it was still in beta testing.[9]

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.[10] Curve went live in the UK in January 2018.[11] In December 2018, it had a US expansion planned.[12] Support for American Express was reintroduced in late January 2019 on a top-up basis.[13] 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,[14] alleging anti-competitive action.[15]

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]

In January 2019, it also rolled out American Express support as an Open Beta allowing all UK customers to add their American Express to the app and spend with them through Curve. American Express later stopped processing transactions for Curve and as of January 2021 the Curve Card can't be used in conjunction with American Express cards with a future return of the service being unlikely. [23]

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. [24] Curve 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 Telegraph later reported that Curve were accused of removing details of the Business Insider story from the company's Wikipedia article.[25]