Curve Aims To Become The ‘Amazon Of Banking’

An Amazon of banking?

That’s the description — perhaps clichéd but still apt — applied to FinTech firm Curve, which is on the hunt for $50 million in fresh capital, according to recent comments made by CEO Shachar Bialick to CNBC. The Amazon comparison came from Bialick, who also said that the three-year-old firm is looking to become more of a platform for services from various providers, explaining why it has not applied for a banking license.

In a recent interview with PYMNTS, Bialick said that the British startup seeks to let users control all of their financial accounts through its app, keeping access and information in a centralized location, consolidated across debit and credit.

Having multiple cards is a side effect (a “runny nose,” in his words) of living in a world where consumers segment their buying habits, juggle rewards and take on cards as life progresses. As we get older, of course, we take on any number of ways to pay, from debit PayPal to credit, to … more credit. “Before you know it, you have 10 to 15 different financial products and services,” he said, adding that “the world of money is very fragmented.”

He told PYMNTS that “in order to solve the problem with money, we have to bundle it back together again.” He also said that the firm seeks to bridge a gap that predecessors like Plastc could not by building a mobile wallet with a tangible card.

Compared with other FinTech firms, “Curve is smaller. Revolut, for example, has 2 million users, while Monzo has 1 million. But Bialick said that users are very engaged and that the funding would be used to expand the product” CNBC noted.

“Although we don’t need the money right now, there’s a great opportunity in the market to grow fast,” he told the news outlet. “There is a great opportunity to grow across Europe and even break out of Europe.”