The new UK-based fintech start-up Curve has recently launched an innovative new bank card that combines all your credit and debit cards into one. Curve raised $2m in venture capital in December 2015 from various prominent fintech investors, including Transferwise’s Taavet Hinrikus and Tandem Bank’s Ricky Knox, and officially launched its product in February 2016.

How does Curve work?

The way Curve works is you scan all your bank cards using the smartphone app and they then sync to your Curve card. Through the app you are now able to track and monitor all your cards’ payments. It is built on the MasterCard Network and the Curve card supports Chip and Pin, magstripe and contactless technology. This way you no longer need to carry around a wallet full of bank cards. Instead, you simply pocket your Curve card and have all your payment options at hand. This is especially useful for entrepreneurs and digital nomads.

Curve’s fees

The Curve Card is currently available to residents in the UK and in Europe (EEA). You can choose between two types of cards; the Curve Blue for £35 and the Curve Black for £75 (one-off payment). The latter comes with extra rewards, which will be introduced in the summer 2016.

The Curve card is not entirely transaction fee free, but you may find that you can avoid fees depending on how you use the card. Let’s have a look.

• Purchases made in the UK are FREE!
• Purchases made outside the UK – 1% fee.  This compares with the standard 3% fee on 99% of UK credit and debit cards.
• ATM cash withdrawals in the UK are FREE.  That means that you can withdraw cash from an ATM in the UK and it will appear on your credit cards as a purchase (earning you reward points).
• ATM cash withdrawals outside the UK are £2 fee + 1% FX fee. If the ATM charges a fee, as often happens in foreign countries, these fees will obviously have to be added on also.

“With Curve you have one card and see every single transaction in one screen. We’re not another new bank or extra service to deal with, we transform your existing fragmented financial world into somewhere crystal clear, designed for the user,” stated Curve CEO and co-founder Shachar Bialick.

If you travel a lot, like I do, or are finding that your wallet is overflowing with all sorts of bank cards, then getting a Curve card might be the right move for you. I ordered mine last week.