Curve has launched a new metal card without personal account numbers, which it hopes will better manage the balance between fraud risk and ease of use.
Curve's card supports EMV contact and contactless payments, and is initially available to consumers who have invested in the firm. Curve’s most recent crowdfunding round was completed in September 2019. In 4 hours and 41 minutes Curve raised £6 million (about $7.5 million). Curve also recently completed a Series B funding, taking its total investments to more than £58 million (about $71 million) and valuing the company at a quarter of a billion dollars.
Curve's numberless card is one of Europe's first, and is similar to the Apple Card which is also numberless and made of metal. Eliminating PANs from the cards improves security and privacy. its investors. The PANs will be stored on Curve's app.
The startup offers non-investing customers three cards based on tiered subscription fees. Curve, which supports Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, has about one million users, roughly double its base following Curve's February 2018 public launch.
In December Curve 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 Curve acting as the intermediary.
