Curve branches out into cross-border P2P

U.K. all-in-one card firm Curve has launched an international no-fee transfer service called Curve Send that supports account-to-account remittances through its mobile app.

The new Curve Send feature is part of its “Over-The-Top” banking platform which is accessed through its mobile app and is not directly tied to its Curve Card, which allows consumers to load multiple cards from different banks on to one single card. Curve Send supports more than 25 currencies, using Mastercard and Visa APIs to process international payments, with with Curve acting as the intermediary.

“Customers want to send money to their friends and family with just a few touches. But with so many different options and the rise of challenger banks, the process is unnecessarily complicated and customers end up having 3 or 4 apps just to send money,” said Diego Rivas, head of OS product at Curve, in a press release.

Curve in November added a mobile payment feature through a connection with Samsung Pay to increase its adoption levels in the U.K. Curve users can link their Samsung Pay account to any Mastercard or Visa debit card, regardless of bank issuer, to make mobile payments. Curve does not support Apple Pay or Google Pay.

According to Crunchbase, a website that tracks investments in private fintech startups, Curve has raised more than $74 million in eight fundraising rounds since 2015. It closed its Series B round in September valued at $55 million with Santander Group’s global venture capital fund, Santander InnoVentures returning as an investor after having also invested in Curve’s Series A fundraising round.