Curve Card – Review 2020 + bonus £5

What is the Curve payment Card and what is its main function?

This card is a bit different than the others. I like the concept this company has come up with and, in this case, their unique idea. Curve Card is a British (physical) payment card, which is smarter than Your regular card issued by banks. Main function of this card is to pair all Your current payment cards into one, Curve. This will help You save wallet space. If You own only two cards, it may not be of such use to You, but in case You are using three or more cards, You will greatly appreciate this gadget. Even though Curve Card is issued by a British company, it fully supports most world’s banks cards. I can confirm following ones which I have personally tested: Revolut, Monese, Monso, N26, TransferWise and Raiffeisenbank.

Curve Card Blue functions

• International ATM withdrawals in foreign currency without any fees and at a wholesale currency exchange rate.
• Cash withdrawals from all ATM’s are free of fees up to 200 EUR/month.
• Payments in all local and foreign shops (both brick-and-mortar and e-shops) are without fees and at a wholesale currency exchange rate, regardless if you pay in CZK or other foreign currency.
• Curve uses a wholesale currency table for any foreign currency conversions. Transactions are free up to 500 EUR/month.
• Curve will unite all of your physical and virtual cards into one.
• Easy and free transaction between Curve Card friends with limit 500 GBP/day.
• The application is continuously creating one time axis for all cards, where You can clearly see all of Your cards’ payments. Payment categorization support is a matter of course, so You can always monitor what You are spending Your money on.
• You can mark each payment with a textual label, or pair it with a receipt photograph. Subsequently, You can filter all of Your payments with the same label (for example: „vacation“), and easily calculate how much money You have spent during Your vacation.
• Cash-back 1% for 90 days when paying at selected businesses (for example Shell, Lidl, Tesco, Ikea, McDonald’s etc.) You will find the complete list of supported businesses here.
• The possibility to take the payment back in time by 14 days. The Go Back in Time function is free and it gives You the option to move Your payment (max. 500 EUR/month) to a different card, paired within the Curve application, up to 14 days from the day of Your actual payment.
• Curve Card will keep Your other cards secure on the internet. When You are using it for an online payment, the business You are buying from will not be able to see the actual card number, expiration date or CVC code of the card paired within the Curve application. In this manner, the original card is completely hidden from the merchant. Any refunds in the event of a complaint or a warranty claim work without problems.
• Any cash withdrawal or a payment done via Curve Card is followed by a notification on Your mobile phone. In the case of a theft, or card loss, You can immediately lock Your Card for any further transactions, using Your mobile application. If You happen to find Your Card afterwards, You can simply unlock it and keep freely using it. If this happened with Your regular bank card, You would have to wait until the bank issued You a new one.
• Deposit function comes in handy when booking a hotel or renting a car.
• Card insurance against misuse up to the amount of 100 000 EUR.

Curve Card Black functions

All the Curve Card Blue functions + additional ones:

• Cash-back 1% for an unlimited time when paying at selected businesses (for example: Shell, Lidl, Tesco, Ikea, McDonald’s etc.) You will find the complete list of supported businesses here.
• Curve uses a wholesale currency table for any foreign currency conversions. Transactions are without any monthly limits.
• The possibility to take the payment back in time by 14 days. The Go Back in Time function is free and it gives You the option to move Your payment (max. 1000 EUR/month) to a different card, paired within the Curve application, up to 14 days from the day of Your actual payment.
• Travel insurance (only valid for UK, FR, DE, IE, IT, PT and ES nationals).
• Electronics insurance (only valid for UK, FR, DE, IE, IT, PT and ES nationals).

How can I get my Curve Card?

The only way to obtain it is to place an order via Curve application (available for Android and iOS), which You can download for free onto your smartphone. Type in the code: 4THNP while registering, and we will both (You and me) receive £5 onto our cash-back Curve accounts. You can use this bonus later for any payments you are making with Your Curve Card. Your Card will be delivered by post within 3 working days from the day You have placed the order. The first transaction must be made within 7 days of registration to get bonus!

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How much will Curve Card cost me?

Basic Curve Blue version is free. There are no monthly fees and no issuing or shipping charges (if You have used the promo code). The other option is Curve Black. The advantage of Curve Black is the option to add up to three cash-back partners, for an unlimited period of time. Another benefit of Curve Black are higher limits for fee-less transactions and ATM withdrawals. Curve Black will cost You 9,99 EUR/month. Highest ranked Card – Metal is not currently available in all coutries. This Card boasts the option to add up to six cash-back partners. The Card itself is made of actual metal. For a casual traveller, Curve Blue is more than enough. I am currently using Curve Black, but I have used Curve Blue during my first year.

What are the fees for ATM withdrawals and transactions?

• ATM withdrawals in foreign currency abroad are free (with a paired card in CZK currency) up to £200 per month (Curve Blue), after +2% fee from the withdrawn amount or £2. It depends on which amount is higher (2% fee versus £2). With Curve Black it is free up to £400 per month, after +2% or £2. Again, it is the bigger amount that counts (2% fee versus £2). Most banks would ordinarily charge You a 5% fee. Link to an official price list.
• ATM withdrawals in local currency within your country are free (with a paired card in your local currency).
• Payments in foreign currency abroad (both in brick-and-mortar shops and e-shops) are free of currency conversion fees up to £500 per month (Curve Blue), after +2% fee, limit-less for Curve Black. Most banks would ordinarily charge You a 5% fee. Link to an official price list.
• Payments in your local currency within your country are, of course, fee-less (both in brick-and-mortar shops and e-shops).
• If You are withdrawing or paying in foreign currency during weekends, count with an 0.5% fee for all transactions in currencies: GBP, EUR, USD and with an 1.5% fee for all other currencies. If, however, the paired card You are paying with is in the same currency like Your payment or withdrawal, there is no currency conversion and hence no fees.

What does Curve Card make its money on?

Since there are no monthly fees with Curve Card Blue, surely You must be wondering, where the company gets their profit from. It is Your card transactions that help Curve earn its money. Curve pays the bank 0,2-0,3 %, then it cashes in the remaining 1-1,6% of the transaction value from the payment terminal operator. Curve also profits on currency exchange. Globally speaking, tens of thousands of exchanges can add up to some very interesting amounts.

How to choose a payment card that You want to use for Your transactions or ATM withdrawals?

It is simple. Open the Curve application on Your smartphone and swipe to pick Your desired card from the list, then confirm it by tapping its picture. In case You do not have enough time to choose between cards, use Curve with the last card you opted for, and then from the comfort of Your home, take advantage of the function Go Back in Time to match the transaction with a card of Your choice.

Curve mobile application functions

You can use it to do all of the following and more: adding new payment cards, picking the card You want to pay with, monitoring the transactions on all Your cards, lock Your Curve Card, display the current PIN of Your Curve Card, show monthly Card limits and monthly payment overviews sorted into categories (food, electronics, travel…).

My observations on day to day use

I have had the Card since the beginning of October 2018, so I take the liberty of saying: „everything is working fine, as promised by Curve Card“. In all this time, the system had 5 drop-outs during which I could not use my Card for a little bit. The operator has apologized for these outages via notification. But first things first. The issuing and shipping of the Card went fine. Also, adding my cards to the application was without a problem. I have made my first contact payment at a shop, and thus activated the Card. I have also tried contactless payments and they are working without a glitch. As soon as You have made Your payment, a notification appears on Your phone. I really like the well worked-out expenses overview within the application. I have tested the cash-back function at a Shell gas station and in IKEA, and indeed I have been credited 1% back from both of my payments, on the very same day. When looking at one of my regular cards’ bank statements, Curve Card payments or ATM withdrawals are shown as internet transaction with a CRV prefixed, and based in London.

Curve Card and Apple Pay

From 29.1.2020 you can link your Curve Card to your iPhone or Apple Watch and pay by Apple Pay. I tested this function and works preferctly.

Conclusion

Personally, what I like the most is the idea of unifying all Your cards into one, while using only one PIN. I do have to say that if I am working with foreign currencies, I prefer the Revolut Card and its additional functions. For this reason, I have my Revolut Card added into Curve Card. Another function I really enjoy is the card locking within the Curve application. All it takes is a situation when You can’t find Your wallet, where all of Your documents and cards are. At first You break up in sweat, but after your pulse rate has gone down, You can reach into Your pocked to find Your phone and open the Curve application. Then it is just a matter of seconds to lock Your Card. After a while of confused running around the house, You realize Your wallet has been in Your jacket pocket all along. With a feeling of relief You open Your application once more, this time to unlock Your Card. The issuing and use of Curve Blue will not cost You anything, so why not give it a try…

Type in the code: 4THNP while registering, and we will both (You and me) receive £5 onto our cash-back Curve Card accounts.

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FAQ – frequently asked questions about Curve Card:

How do I get my Curve Card for free + £5 bonus?

To get Your Card for free (along with shipping to Czech Republic) and the additional £5 bonus, all You need to do is use the PROMO code 4THNP while setting up Your account.

What is a Curve payment card?

Main function of this card is to pair all Your current payment cards into one, Curve. This will help You save wallet space. If You own only two cards, it may not be of such use to You, but in case You are using three or more cards, You will greatly appreciate this gadget.

Is using Curve Card free?

Yes, both; keeping of the Card and all Card payments are free of charge. The company makes their money on fees from the businesses, with each Card purchase You make.

Which banks and other FinTechs are supported by Curve Card?

Most banks, Revolut, Monzo, N26, Monese and TransferWise.