As endurance athletes, we’ve all probably had at least one occasion where we could have done with an emergency snack stop (or an emergency inner tube!) while out training. And while most of us have digital wallets on our phones, newcomer Curve are on a mission to make paying on the go even more convenient.
With their bold claim that they can make Garmin pay ‘not suck anymore’ (because has anyone actually successfully managed to set their Garmin up for contactless payments!?). We were interested to take a closer look at what Curve is, how it works and whether it’s worth it for endurance sport athletes.
What is Curve?
Curve is a new form of digital payment which connects all of your credit and debit cards to one digital wallet – and one card. Unlike Apple wallet, where you still have to choose which card to pay with at each transaction. Curve is a one card does all situation. How that works, is that you either set up rules (i.e. payments over a certain amount always go on your credit card, payments for food and beverages always go on your joint account etc.). Or you choose after the transaction which account you want the payment to come out of. Interestingly, you can also retrospectively switch which account you’ve used up to 120 days later. So it’s not a bank account – but a digital wallet which offers an easy way to use one card or contactless payment device to access all of your bank accounts.
For Garmin users who’ve experienced the pain of your bank card not being supported by the Garmin Pay functionality. Curve also gives you a way of connecting up via your Curve card.
They’ve also paired up with multiple Tour de France winner Chris Froome recently on a campaign to showcase their range of compatible wearable payment options – including rings and bracelets.
How does it work?
In a similar way to how you’d set up your Apple wallet, you start by downloading the Curve app and connecting your debit and credit cards. The difference is that you then just use the Curve card (either digitally, or you also receive a physical card) for your transaction. And choose afterwards which of your accounts the payment comes out of.
You can also retrospectively go back and change how you’ve paid for something up to 30 days later (extending to 120 days for the paid versions of Curve). So if you’ve used your debit card when you meant to use your credit card, you can switch the transaction over.
Essentially, Curve’s premise is that you haven’t got to remember which card links to which bank account when you’re paying for stuff. You just pay with one card, and decide which account you’re going to use later. There’s also an ‘anti-embarrassment’ mode you can switch on, where you select one (or more) back-up cards for Curve to automatically try should your primary card get declined at the check-out.
Other benefits
If you’re travelling for training or racing, using Curve means that you can side step any foreign transaction fees your bank might usually charge – regardless of which of your accounts you pay out of. You can also withdraw cash from ATMs abroad without fees. Curve use the Mastercard exchange rate with no mark-up so you can have confidence while travelling that you’re getting the best rate, and not racking up expensive fees while paying abroad. The Curve Front feature also gives you a method to use a credit card to pay, where credit cards aren’t usually accepted. And you can also unlock a number of other perks including earning cashback on transactions with certain retailers and discounted access to airport lounges (with the premium account) without having to remember which of your cards is the right one to use to get the perks.
Plans/fees
Curve offers a range of different plans – from free to £17.99 a month. You’ll get more benefits for the paid version, but there are still plenty of perks on the free plan. We’ll outline some of the key perks and features for each plan below, but you can find a full breakdown via the Curve website.
Curve Lite
- Free
- Add up to 3 cards
- Go back in time up to 30 days post-purchase
- £250 a month fair FX rates
- Set up to 2 smart rules
Curve X
- £5.99 / month
- Add up to 5 cards
- Go back in time up to 60 days post-purchase
- £3,333 a month fair FX rates plus £300 a month of fee free foreign ATM withdrawals
- Set up to 5 smart rules
Curve Black
- £9.99 / month
- Add unlimited number of cards
- Go back in time up to 90 days post-purchase
- £50,000 a month fair FX rates, £500 a month fee free foreign ATM withdrawals
- Unlimited smart rules
- Cashback at 6 selected retailers
Curve Metal
- £17.99 / month
- Add unlimited number of cards
- Go back in time up to 120 days post-purchase
- £100,000 a month fair FX rates, £1000 a month fee free foreign ATM withdrawals
- Unlimited smart rules
- Cashback at 12 selected retailers
- Discounted airport lounge access
- Premium 18g metal card in a choice of 4 colourways
Wearable payment made simple – why Curve might be useful for endurance athletes
One of the main draws for endurance athletes will be the idea of wearable payment methods being made simpler – and more feasible. UK users who’ve struggled with the limited card support on Garmin Pay will be able to get around the issue by using Curve Mastercard. Post-parkrun coffee runs made easy.
Curve have also teamed up with Tapster to offer a range of supported wearable payment devices including rings, key fobs, watch straps and bracelets. That means if you’re out trail running and your phone is at the bottom of your backpack. Or you’ve just finished up an open water swim and you need a hot drink to warm up, you’ve got a payment method quite literally to hand.
TRI247 Tried & Tested: Curve Digital Wallet review
To see how the Curve digital wallet and Tapster smart payment ring performed out in the wild, we headed out for a coffee run to put them to the test.
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