Curve is a Mobile App that comes with it’s own debit Curve Card (Mastercard), that aims to help the user manage their finances.
💨 Curve In a nutshell:
The user can link all of their active credit/debit cards in one, that of the Curve Card, and manage all of their transactions and spending via it.
Having all of your cards linked into one, allows for a better overview of your personal spending, as well as access to special benefits such as Cashback Bonuses (for retailers like Shell, BP, Lidl etc) and “Go Back In Time” feature.
More info on the latter further down.
Interesting stuff right? Keep reading cause there’s more!
🎁 Curve Sign up Bonus €5:
Register from the following link and Get €5 as soon as soon as you complete your first transaction worth €10 within 14 days.
Curve Guide Index:
- What is Curve?
- Why should I create a Curve account?
- How much does Curve cost?
- Open an Account
- 🎁 Get €5 ▶
- Conclusion
- F.A.Q.
What is the Curve Card?
Curve was founded in the UK by Israeli Shachar Bialick in 2015.
An all around guy who according to Curve’s website, active in many fields and with experience in different verticals (finance, e-commerce, health care & mobile telecommunications).
In December of 2015, he “raised” 2 million dollars as seed funding by notable fintech backers, such as Taavet Hinrikus, one of the co-founders of TransferWise.
After spending two years in beta, it officially launched in January of 2018 from the UK in 31 EEA countries, and the waiting list numbering up to 50.000 users.
But enough with history, this is a finance blog. Let’s see what Curve actually does.
In the words of Steve O’Hear, editor in TechCrunch:
“[Curve] broadly plays in the payments and loyalty space and combines the benefits of mobile payment solutions, such as Apple Pay, and the traditional bank card.”
Steve O’Hear – TechCrunch
So, as Steve mentions, it’s a tool/service that “plays” in the payments and loyalty niches that combines the conveniency of mobile wallets (Apple & Google Pay) with a physical debit card.
’nuff said.
Check out their video if you’re already bored of me and come back refreshed and rejuvenated.
Curve is a way to link all your credit and debit cards to the Curve App, and in a way “forward” them all to one single card, the Curve Card.
Think of Curve as an “umbrella” MasterCard, under which are all of your other cards.
This way you only have to use one card for all spendings and transactions, so you don’t always have to carry multiple cards. You may now enjoy all the newfound card space in your wallet.
Through the App the user can control which card the Curve card draws money from and it’s easily configurable with only a few clicks or taps.
Neat way to manage your finances from multiple cards, debit or credit, all through one app and one single card.
This way the user has a much broader overview of their financial status and thus, better management.
Finally, Curve also offers some interesting features, not that common to the market, such as:
- Go Back in Time
Paid with the wrong card? No problem! Curve offers a 30-day window to change which card gets charged for any transactions you’ve made - Fee-Free Spendings in Foreign Currency
Curve allows for purchases in foreign currencies free of currency exchange fees while offering the real banking exchange rate (i.e. the rate which banks exchange money) - 1% Cashback Bonus
1% money returns for purchases from retailers like Shell, BP, Lidl, H&M and others for Black & Metal plans
Let’s take a closer look:
Why Open a Curve Account?
All Your Debit & Credit Cards Under One
As I’ve mentioned before, you can link all cards from traditional and digital banks under the Curve “umbrella”, granting you full control over your finances on one hand, and the convenience of having to use only one card, Curve’s MasterCard, on the other.
Transactions in Foreign Currency using the Real Exchange Rate and no Commissions
So, say you want to buy something online, but it’s in another currency, or maybe you want to travel outside of the Eurozone.
Well, you don’t have to bother yourself with exchange rates, currency conversion or get cheated a small fee when converting.
All you have to do is use your Curve card for all your purchases there!
Curve automatically converts your Euros to whichever type of currency is needed for the transaction using the “interbank rate” (the real exchange rate at which banks exchange money) without charging you any conversion fees.
No cheaty higher rates, no commission fees!
This is nothing new to the market, however.
Digital Banks such as Revolut and N26 offer the same benefits but in a different way.
Here’s what’s different:
In a digital bank such as the above you have to deposit your money in your digital bank account, which is not the case with Curve, since Curve is not a bank, but just an intermmediary.
Curve will “get” the money from your chosen connected credit or debit card, convert it, and then proceed with the payment!
Fee-Free ATM Money Withdrawals*
Curve allows the user to withdraw money from any ATM, fee-free*, for up to 200€ every month if you’re in their Standard Plan, 400€ if in the Black Plan and 600€ if in the Metal Plan.
If for any reason you’re about to withdraw money in a foreign currency, your best option is to let Curve take care of the conversion (and not the ATM’s bank) since it’ll use real exhange rate and won’t charge you any fees for the conversion.
🚨 Note:
There are no fees as far as Curve is concerned, however there might be an extra charge from the ATM’s side.
Some banks (that’s the norm in Greece, for example) charge a standard fee for using their ATMs in order to withdraw money.
Check before any withdraws if there are any fees – The ATM machine will let you know.
🚨 Another Note:
Using Curve for ATM withdrawals in your local currency is not Curve’s primary purpose and also doesn’t make any sense – just use your local bank card.
CashBack Bonus in Major Retailers
If you decide to upgrade your Curve plan to Black or Metal, you benefit from their Cashback Bonus offer.
If you are in the Black plan you get to pick 3 retailers and if you are in the Metal plan you get to pick 6, indefinitely.
Take your time and pick up your 3 or 6 retailers to benefit from: it’s a loong list!
Made your wishes choices? Great!
For every purchase you make from these retailers with your Curve card, you’ll have 1% of the value returned to you as Curve Cash.
Here’s a short version of a very long Cashback Bonus Retailer list:
- Carrefour
- Aldi
- Lidl
- Shell
- BP
- H&M
- Starbucks
- Zara
- Apple
In order to use your Curve Cash, you have to open the Curve app and select Curve Cash as the payment method.
🚨 Important:
I meant it when I said to take your time choosing the retailers you benefit from, because once you lock your choices, you don’t get to change them afterwards!
So choose carefully.
Go Back in Time
…is what the movie “Back to the Future” should have ACTUALLY been called.
But besides an unsuccessful attempt at a joke, Go Back in Time is actually one of the coolest and most innovative features that Curve has to offer, especially useful to those with multiple cards linked to their Curve account.
How Does it Work?
You have the ability to change the card you paid with for a past transaction, and choose another one of your cards to get charged, within 30 days of the initial transaction!
Did you “accidentally” charge your business card 200$ for services in “Thai Massage & Spa by Fabio”, cause you “accidentally” used the wrong card?
No problem!
You can now wo/man up and accept the charges yourself! The Go Back in Time feature allows you to transfer the cost of any purchases to another card.
Pretty handy feature to have to properly manage your finances, and accommodate your expenses accordingly.
Security
So now that there are fewer cards on you, there are also less chances for you to lose them!
That’s something, right?
Ah but I see you have a notable counter-argument:
“But, what if I lose my Curve card? I will have lost every card I own altogether!”
Yes, but…no!
If by any chance you happen to lose your Curve card, you can simply log on to the app, and deactivate it instantly!
Thus rendering it practically useless.
Furthermore, all transactions are protected by MasterCard’s Chargeback scheme.
Should something goes terribly wrong with any sellers, you can contact Curve directly and ask them to mediate in resolving any disputes and chargebacks.
How Much does Curve Card Cost?
Curve offers three types of subscription: the “Standard Plan“, the “Black Plan” and the “Metal Plan“:
Curve Standard Card | Free
The Standard Plan that allows for the following features:
- Free, without a monthly subscription
- Free shipment of your Curve MasterCard
- Free ATM withdrawals up to 200€ per month*
- Fee-free Purchases in any currency using the real banking exchange rate up to 500€ per month
- Free use of “Go Back in Time” Feature for payments executed in the last 30 days up to €5.000
- Works with Google Pay, Samsung Pay and Apple Pay
- Curve Customer Protection up to 100,000€
🎁 Curve Sign up Bonus €5:
Register from the following link and Get €5 as soon as soon as you complete your first transaction worth €10 within 14 days.
Curve Card | Black Plan | 9.99€ /month
The Black Plan that allows for more features:
- 9.99€ monthly subscription
- Free shipment of your Curve MasterCard
- 1% cashback in 3 premium retailers indefinitely
- Fee-free foreign ATM withdrawals up to 400€ per month*
- Fee-free Purchases in any currency using the real banking exchange without any limitation
- Free use of “Go Back in Time” up to 30 days up to €5.000
- Travel & Gadget Global Insurance
- Works with Google Pay, Samsung Pay and Apple Pay
- Curve Customer Protection up to 100,000€
Curve Card | Metal Plan | 14.99€ /month
This is the top tier subscription plan that offers:
- 14.99€ monthly subscription
- Free shipment of your Curve MasterCard – from metal material (18g)
- 1% cashback in 6 premium retailers indefinitely
- Fee-free foreign ATM withdrawals up to 600€ per month*
- Fee-free Purchases in any currency using the real banking exchange without any limitation
- Free use of “Go Back in Time” up to 30 days
- Travel & Gadget Global Insurance
- Mobile Phone Insurance
- Rental Car Collision Insurance
- Airport Lounge Free Passes
- Works with Google Pay, Samsung Pay and Apple Pay
- Curve Customer Protection up to 100,000€
For more information on what the different subscriptions have to offer, be my guest.
🚨 Important:
ATM charges may occur
How do I create a Curve account?
So you’re in huh?
Excellent!
Follow the step by step instructions and you’ll be ready in no time.
Step 1:
Download the App
Use this link and add your mobile number. You should receive an SMS with the download link shortly.
🎁 Curve Sign up Bonus €5:
Register from the following link and Get €5 as soon as soon as you complete your first transaction worth €10 within 14 days.
Alternatively, you can fetch the app directly from Google Play or Apple Store.
Step 2:
Create Your Free Curve Account
After downloading the App, following the instructions on Step 1, open the Curve app.
After scrolling through the benefits, hit “Create a New Account“.
Add your email.
Go to the email and use the link “Log in to Curve” to open the app and complete the confirmation.
Step 3:
Personal Info & Address
This is where you add your personal information. Add your mobile number, full name and address.
The validation process was one of the faster I’ve ever come across since there was no delay for any kind of verifications from the Curve’s side.
On one hand I was pretty happy since I was done very quickly, on the other it may seem a little alarming (for them) to accept everyone who wants to create a new account.
Then again I’m no expert in those fields.
Step 4:
Subscription Method
After completing Step 3, you’ll be prompted to allow or deny push notifications from the App, and also to add the promo code to earn your bonus.
Afterwards, you get to select your Curve plan.
Is it going to be the Basic Standard Plan (free), the Black Plan or the Metal Plan?
No idea what those are? Scroll up to refresh your memory!
Step 5:
Free Curve Card Shipment
The next step is password creation. After creating one, you get prompted to confirm the shipping address.
The shipment of your card is totally free and it takes about ~10 working days for it to arrive.
Step 6:
Linking your Cards
In this step you can link credit or debit cards from different banks to Curve.
You can link cards from any traditional brick and mortal bank and digital ones (N26, Revolut, Monese etc).
After filling in your card credentials, you’ll get a validation prompt.
Curve will charge a small amount in your newly linked card so that you can track the transaction, identify the card and link it to your account.
Don’t worry, you’ll of course get a refund for the charges after.
After the transaction is visible on your card, you’ll have to open the Mobile or Desktop app of the bank your applied card belongs to.
In that transaction statement you’ll find a code that you have to copy, since it’ll be used to verify your card.
In this specific one, a Revolut card was used, and the code was: c-Q5jtas
🚨 Hint:
In digital banks the transaction statement is immediately visible.
However in traditional banks, it might take a while. If you are in a hurry, you can always call their customer support and ask for the information of this particular transation.
I have done it, they will help you.
Copied the Code? Good.
Now go back to the app, paste it in and tap “Verify Now“.
Voilà!
Success!
Your card has been added and is ready to use via Curve!
You can repeat the process and add as many cards as you wish to fully benefit from what Curve has to offer.
Conclusion
If I were to sum it all up, these are the 3 main features that Curve has to offer:
First ⤵️
An app to link all of your different credit/debit cards into one master Curve MasterCard.
Financial overview has never been easier: The app allows you to maneuver through cards and control your finances like you never had before.
Second ⤵️
An ideal solution for those who want to travel outside of the Eurozone as well as customers that wish to make purchases in foreign currency but want to avoid opening accounts in digital banks and having to deposit any money in them.
Curve is not a digital bank, it’s an intermediary, that also offers fee-free purchases in foreign currency using the Real Exchange Rate.
Third ⤵️
The great Cashback offer (for Black/Metal Plan) in combination with the “Go Back in Time” option, are two features that can’t be easily ignored!
Then again, third party access to all your credit/debit cards information, could be something that keeps you up at nights!
In the end, it’s up to you.
Personally, I’d definitely give it a try!
It’s new, it’s interesting and it’s free. More than enough for you to give it a try and see for yourself.
So!
What do you think about it?
Have you tried it? Or maybe you are willing to!
Or maybe there is something holding you back…
Anyway, let me know in the comments below!
🎁 Curve Sign up Bonus €5:
Register from the following link and Get €5 as soon as soon as you complete your first transaction worth €10 within 14 days.
F.A.Q.
Let’s check some Frequently Asked Questions regarding Curve and its use.
What is Curve?
Curve is a Mobile App that comes with it’s own debit Curve mastercard, that aims to help the user manage their finances. The user can link all of their active credit/debit cards in one, that of the Curve Card, and manage all of their transactions and spending via it.
How much does Curve cost?
The basic Curve plan (the Blue Plan) is 100% free and offers access to all the main features of the application (more than enough for the average user).
You can open a free Curve account via the official website and win a £5 bonus!
Curve Card & Google Pay: Can I connect them?
You can add your Curve card in your Goole Pay Wallet and use your Android phone for your transcations.
Curve Card & Apple Pay: Can I connect them?
The implementation is here! You can now connect your Curve Card with your Apple Wallet and use your Apple device for all your contactless transactions.
If I want to Dispute or Chargeback a past transaction with Curve, whom do I contact?
If you’ve used your Curve MasterCard for the purchase, then your best choice would be to contact Curve directly.
Contacting your bank should take longer, since your application would have to be assessed by the bank, then by Curve and then by the retailer.
Are there any spending limits?
Yes, as you can see in their website, the following limitations apply:
- € 2,000 spend per day
- € 5,000 spend per month (rolling 30 days)
- € 200 cash withdrawal per day
- € 10,000 yearly (rolling 365 days)
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