MSE News: New Curve card claims to be 'the only card you need to carry'

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  • jcontest
    jcontest Posts: 222
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    I am going to get this just to see if I can use it at CostCo.

    As for cash "recycling", we used to do that in the past as you could do "balance transfers" on new cards and send that back to debit cards! At one point we had 10's of thousands of pound going around in loops, earning 5% PA might not seem like a lot, but when your earning 5% on 25k£ that's not yours then it's not bad!

    Those things were closed a long time ago, it was short lived, but I guess there is potential there to do it with this too but interest rates being so low means your better off with just a few hours of work at the local chippy.

    The bigger question is how they are making their money. Are they charging processing fee's that are higher than the processing fees they are getting charged? I would have thought the difference here is too small to make it worth while, but perhaps not?

    On a side note, I have a pal that works in the "Digital/IT Sector" and he's had several startups over the years where he has paid himself quite well. There's over 20 years worth of failed projects and he still manages to start new things and get investors that pay his time as a manager.
  • zerog
    zerog Posts: 2,478 Forumite
    Curve is not making money and won't do so with their current business model. Their aim is to get as many customers as possible. I don't know what they plan to do in the future.

    In that respect they are similar to Monzo and Revolut who aren't making money either.

    They have a "business" version which is not covered by the EU interchange cap where they make up to 1.9% on every transaction. But it is reported that "business" cardholders have also been receiving the new debit card version.

    They also have a premium card.

    Payments to financial institutions don't work.

    You could have used it to avoid credit card fees where there were no fees for debit cards. Now that there are no credit card fees, then you can use it where merchants have decided to stop accepting credit cards. It works for HMRC.

    Yes, you can withdraw £200 a month and pay it straight back into your bank account. If this is the only thing you do, they will cancel your card pretty quickly.
  • System
    System Posts: 178,077
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    Stuart_W wrote: »
    I could see credit card providers choosing to exclude Curve transactions from cashback if this takes off. If they really wanted to kill off Curve, the credit card companies might even try to count them as "cash" transactions in the way that gambling transactions often are on a credit card, even though it is processed like a purchase - but the credit card cash withdrawal fee applies. A change of terms and conditions would be necessary for card providers to do this though.

    This is small fry, they won't be fussed plus it eliminates their S75 liability which removes those scammers that pay £1 on a card and claim 12k for a dodgy kitchen.
  • Stuart_W
    Stuart_W Posts: 1,719
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    edited 9 February 2018 at 9:01PM
    Well, my first week of using Curve is coming to a close, and I have come across four problems so far preventing this from replacing all my other cards

    1. Cashback at supermarkets is not permitted.

    Despite being a mastercard debit card, I was initially confused when I could not get cashback at the checkout when using my curve card. This was the case every time I tried so I raised a support ticket with Curve and they confirmed that they don't support cashback at this time but may review this in the future. I had no idea there were different "levels" of debit card, and thought cashback provision was up to the retailer and not the bank. I have only previously held Visa debit (previously called delta) debit cards and always managed to get cashback at the supermarket.

    2. Not accepted at one retailer I tried.
    When buying a top for my daughter from my local Edinburgh Woolen Mill, the card was declined. They did have a sign saying mastercards from certain banks - they listed virgin money and Metro and a few others I hadn't heard of - may not be accepted. Now I found this rather odd, as I presumed a retailer either accepts mastercard or they don't. I totally accept this may be the retailer's fault and not Curve's fault, but no matter who's fault it is, it is still a bit of pain for the end user.

    3. The way refunds are applied

    I happened to pop to my local Co-op three times in the same day, early morning, afternoon and late evening. On the last visit, one item was incorrectly charged and I promptly got a 90p refund to my card. The following day, Curve applied the refund to my first transaction of the day and reduced that amount my 90p. It wasn't showing as a 90p refund, just a transaction for 90p lower than the original amount. Surely where multiple transactions for the retailer issuing the refund exist, there should be an option to allocate the refund.

    4. Not accepted online
    Attempted to pay for a parcel delivery on the Collect+ website, and the card was not recognised as a valid credit card number. Double checked and tried a few times. Used my regular debit card number and bingo, worked first time. Again, maybe the retailer's fault but still my problem. I will acknowledge I used it online at Iceland with no problem.

    As I hardly use cash, just getting the odd £5 or £10 cashback now and again when I'm in the supermarket tides me over for the few occasions it is necessary. This card is going to force me to make separate cash withdrawals if I want to use it for all my spending. So I will probably still need my regular debit card.

    Not being as universally accepted online or instore - even if this is technically the fault of retailers - means I will probably still need my regular credit card.

    It may have survived its first week, but I'm not sure if it will make it to the end of its first month. We'll see. I may have just been unlucky.

    Instant transaction notification is fairly slick, along with option to photograph or upload a receipt quite easy.

    How is anyone else finding it?

    Seems odd I can do up to 10 cash machine withdrawals and upto £200 withdrawn to a credit card each month for free and yet not get supermarket cashback. Surely the latter would be cheaper than a cash machine withdrawal wouldn't it? I think the lack of supermarket cashback availability might for me actually be the deal breaker unfortunately.
  • Stuart_W wrote: »
    Well, my first week of using Curve is coming to a close, and I have come across four problems so far preventing this from replacing all my other cards


    4. Not accepted online
    Attempted to pay for a parcel delivery on the Collect+ website, and the card was not recognised as a valid credit card number. Double checked and tried a few times. Used my regular debit card number and bingo, worked first time. Again, maybe the retailer's fault but still my problem. I will acknowledge I used it online at Iceland with no problem.

    I had a similar problem not being able to pay online. Having talked to their support, it seems that the Curve card isn't "3DS" enabled, and some merchants may only accept "3DS" enabled cards. This is effectibely the Verified by Visa / MasterCard SecureCode process that sometimes appears when paying online.

    Other things I've noted;

    1. Limits:
    It's difficult to understand what your limits are. In the app, it takes you to a generic page listing the limits - however, it doesn't tell you whether you are a heavy or light user and which limits apply to you.

    2. Cashback:
    I've purchased items from Boots (who are a cashback partner) for under £1 using the card. Normally every cashback / rewards card I've used previously rounds the transaction down to the nearest pound. Not the Curve card! Even purchases below £1 will earn you cashback... this might be a small amount, but it all adds up slowly and pleased to see there is no rounding down!

    3. Cash withdrawals:
    When using a cash point you will get a warning that the card issuer may charge you for the transaction. Don't worry, you will not be charged! Can cause mild panic, but nothing to worry about.

    Overall, relatively happy with the card. The fact I can earn credit card reward points on cash withdrawals is a major plus. The big problem of the card being rejected as its not "3DS" enabled is very frustrating for now. If it wasn't for the cash withdrawals, I would no longer hold this card.
  • SnowTiger
    SnowTiger Posts: 4,458
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    1. Limits:
    It's difficult to understand what your limits are. In the app, it takes you to a generic page listing the limits - however, it doesn't tell you whether you are a heavy or light user and which limits apply to you.

    Curve's Android app shows personal limits.

    Screenshot_20180212-134723.png

    Tap on menu icon, select Curve Card Limits, then See details.
  • Odd.. That doesn't seem to work for me.

    I'll send a message to support, they generally seem to be quite on the ball.
  • jsmith9156
    jsmith9156 Posts: 267 Forumite
    jcontest wrote: »
    I am going to get this just to see if I can use it at CostCo.

    ....and did it work?

    IVA Payments Coutdown -
    IVA completed!! Now the cleanup begins!:D
    Rebuild Credit Time: Vanquis CC with £1000 Limit (£0 Balance)
    Sim Only Contract with T Mobile
    All adding little green ticks to my credit file :D
  • hpuse
    hpuse Posts: 1,117
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    It is a mastercard debit card end of the day.
    I don't understand how on earth they allow themselves to 'load' frontface from a visa or debit credit card to clear a transaction- if that is the way it works.

    If that isn't money laundering - they are 'batching up' like paypal does and hence the customer has the option to swap transaction between cards. And that is the reason why £2000 spend limit!... I now see why there is a 'waiting list' in the business model.... To spread the risk, when allocating customer cards in bulk!.
    (in the backend, it is still one clearing account).
    It is all becoming clear now.

    You are so right - solution to a problem that does not exist.
    Or create a problem and then claim innovatively you solving/solved it.
    If a men's wallet still need to have one card holder slot, for the 'curve' why not use commonsense and use 3 ??


    ValiantSon wrote: »
    Yet another solution to a problem that doesn't really exist!
  • Shedman
    Shedman Posts: 1,484
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    Well I am finding very handy. Just carry two cards around now. The ability to reallocate spend to any of the cards that have been stored on it is great (I have 7 on there at the moment..), especially as I want to make sure I use a number of different credit cards each month so that I get the DDs for meeting Lloyds, BOS etc DD criteria now that Tesco Savings trick has gone.

    Even better is that I got £5 reward from using a referral code and am getting 1% cashback reward for using card in Tesco and still putting the spend on Tesco CC to get Clubcard points.

    Not had a issue using it so far.
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