Most of us carry wallets bloated with more cards than we can handle. You may have debit cards, credit cards, business cards, loyalty cards, and much more, weighing down your back pocket or bag. But that can change with Curve, a smart Mastercard and app that consolidates all of your existing cards, allowing you to pay through any of them using just one card.

Curve is essentially a smart wallet that combines all of your existing credit cards, debits cards, and loyalty cards into a single app and Mastercard. It’s a completely free (you have to pay for premium cards) upgrade to anyone’s wallets, especially travellers and those purchasing expensive electronic items. However, Curve’s benefits are a lot broader than a slimmer wallet.

Curve is giving all new users 1 percent cashback across every single one of their purchases for an entire month. You can optimize your travel with an extra cashback of up to 20 percent on Booking.com, Hertz, and other vendors, allowing you to stack up on the benefits of your existing cards. This means you receive rewards from two points — the primary card and Curve.

Curve also promises the best FX rates in the marketplace, complete with free ATM withdrawals abroad and purchase protection of up to £100,000 on disputes. These benefits are automatically applied to your connected cards, helping you make purchases with a lot more convenience and comfort. You can also upgrade to premium cards for additional rewards.

  • Right now Curve is offering a £5 welcome bonus to Pocket-Lint readers on their first purchase, but you can read on to find out what makes it such a great service.

Consolidate multiple cards in one app and card

Curve’s primary benefit is that it can consolidate all of your debit cards, credit cards, and loyalty cards in one app and Mastercard. You don’t need to carry multiple cards on your person, just one. You can easily change which card you want to use from your app. Because of this feature, you don’t need to remember multiple PIN and CVV numbers — just the Curve PIN and CVV. Furthermore, the Curve card is compatible with Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay, so you can add all of your existing cards to these payment services at once.

Move payments from one card to another

If you’ve made a payment using the wrong card, you can easily move the payment to another card. This can be done for up to 30 days after the transaction and only once per transaction. This feature is particularly useful when you want to move the payment to a card that offers better benefits or move a payment from a personal to a company card. If you’ve ordered a new debit/ credit card that hasn’t yet arrived, you can make the payment using any of your other cards and then move the payment to the new card when it arrives.

No risk of cards being declined

There’s nothing quite as embarrassing as when your payment is declined, especially in social situations. Payments can get declined if your card has expired, you’ve exceeded your credit limit, the card provider has technical issues or numerous other factors. Curve as an “anti-embarrassment mode” that allows you to define a backup card that’s automatically used in the event of a failed or declined payment. This allows you to make the payment without any issues, avoiding potentially embarrassing situations.

1% cashback with all expenses

If you have one of the premium subscription-based Curve cards, you’re also eligible for 1 percent cashback on all your transactions with 3 or 6 retailers. The free card also provides 1 percent cashback at three retailers for 30 days, but that’s just a short trial to help you determine if you want to upgrade to a premium card. The cashback is an additional reward that allows you to stack up on the benefits of your existing cards. This feature is particularly useful for those making big electronic expenses at Amazon, Apple, Nintendo, and more.

Stack up rewards and benefits on all your existing cards with this Curve mastercard photo 2
Curve

Free up money from past transactions

Curve Flex is a new initiative that allows you to free up money from past transactions to meet your current and future financial requirements. You can essentially free up money from past transactions and convert them into monthly payments spread across installments of three to 12 months. This is a completely unique feature that allows you to meet present expenses, such as purchasing expensive electronic equipment, holidays, or emergencies. Furthermore, Curve Flex involves a lower interest rate than a typical credit card.

Consolidate all financial information in the mobile app

Curve gives you access to advanced spending analytics on your mobile app. You can see exactly what you’ve spent from all registered payment cards, calculate the accumulated Curve reward points, view a summary of spendings on different categories (food, retail, travel, etc.), and define your purchases as personal or business. You can also store pictures of receipts against the purchases. In fact, you can also add all of your bank and card accounts in the mobile application, so all of your financial information is consolidated in one location.

Pay with credit cards whenever you want

Generally speaking, credit cards can’t be used for certain types of payments, such as paying for taxes and utilities. However, thanks to the Curve Fronted feature, you can pay for all services using your registered credit cards via the Curve debit card. This allows you to essentially treat your credit cards as debit cards. A 1.5 percent service fee is usually applied to these transactions, but you won’t be charged those fees with a Curve Metal card.

Advanced security features

Curve provides a wide range of advanced customer protection capabilities. If you pay with Curve cards, you’re eligible for a refund of up to £100,000 per dispute. You can also lock and unlock your Curve card through the mobile app at any point, which is particularly useful if you can’t locate your card. Furthermore, paying with Curve card means you don’t have to disclose your bank and primary card details to anyone, making all transactions safer.

We’ve highlighted some of the most noteworthy features and capabilities available in the free Curve card. However, Curve provides a wide range of additional benefits, especially if you subscribe to Curve Black or Curve Metal. The advanced Curve cards give you access to worldwide travel insurance, mobile phone insurance, discounted worldwide airport lounge access, and numerous other benefits.

  • Want to give it a try yourself? Curve are offering a £5 welcome bonus to Pocket-Lint readers on their first purchase, so there's even more to love. Check it out right here!