Curve Pay Launches iPhone NFC Payments as Apple Pay Alternative

[MacRumors]

British fintech company Curve has launched contactless payments for iPhone users in the European Union, becoming the second third-party payment service after PayPal to take advantage of Apple's newly opened NFC interface (via iphone-ticker.de).

The Curve Pay app allows users to make tap-to-pay purchases without using Apple Pay or the Wallet app, following PayPal's debut of similar functionality in Germany earlier this month. The feature was made possible by Europe's Digital Markets Act, which forced Apple to open its NFC chip to third-party developers.

Unlike traditional wallet apps, Curve Pay operates as an independent payment authority rather than simply passing through stored card data. Users can reassign purchases to different cards after completing transactions and link various payment sources including PayPal accounts.

The app also provides real-time spending analytics and automated cashback programs. Its "staged wallet" architecture also gives users more control over the payment process compared to conventional digital wallets.

Curve claims more than six million users across its platform, which was previously available only on Android devices. The company joins PayPal in offering European iPhone users alternatives to Apple Pay, with German cooperative banks also planning to introduce their own NFC payment solution through their banking app this September.

NFC access is available for banking and wallet apps in the European Economic Area, which includes the 27 European Union countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.

Article Link: Curve Pay Launches iPhone NFC Payments as Apple Pay Alternative

 

[bob24]

Question is: what benefit does it bring to their users if any? (Given that they already support Apple Pay)

What it obvious is that it does bring drawbacks to the user as payment cards can potentially be fragmented between Apple wallet and other wallet Apps, so to convince me to use this they’d need to clearly explain what I have to gain in exchange for moving to a more fragmented UX (which I don’t think any alternative wallet App provider has done at this stage).

 

[f0ku5]

Question is: what benefit does it bring to their users if any? (Given that they already support Apple Pay)

No real benefits for users, mainly for them.

 

[Ctrlos]

Question is: what benefit does it bring to their users if any? (Given that they already support Apple Pay)

None! It only serves to fracture the market and let banks and so on avoid (miniscule) Apple Pay fees. It is unlikely these banking apps will gain full Apple Wallet 'pass' functionality, essentially making them a crippled version of a default app.

As a service Curve is actually really good. It lets you link all your payment cards to one central card. You use the app to switch the default card over. This sounds pointless but it does allow you to link Credit Card and Bank providers that do not support Apple Pay to that service. They also give you cashback for various retailers.

Samsung offer their own version on Galaxy Phones as a way of sidestepping the limited UK bank support for Samsung Pay. It operates via a Phone but you can request a physical Samsung/Curve card to go with it. I think I set mine up because they were offering a £25 signup bonus.

 

[Rogifan]

I don’t get why competition for Apple is bad. Maybe the wallet app and Apple Pay is the best for contactless payments. But why not let others in the space and compete? The best way for Apple products to get better is competition.

 

[Plutonius]

I wonder if places in the EU will now stop supporting Apple pay ?

 

[I7guy]

I don’t get why competition for Apple is bad. Maybe the wallet app and Apple Pay is the best for contactless payments. But why not let others in the space and compete? The best way for Apple products to get better is competition.

Competition for Apple is good. Competition for Apple by regulation by forcing Apple to allow free access to its ip is bad.

 

[bob24]

I don’t get why competition for Apple is bad. Maybe the wallet app and Apple Pay is the best for contactless payments. But why not let others in the space and compete? The best way for Apple products to get better is competition.

The problem is, this competition means that if you have 3 payment cards, you might have 3 separate apps which need to be opened separately on the phone to make a payment with each card (if the 3 card issuers are all using different wallet services).

Not exactly a great user experience.

 

[sw1tcher]

Question is: what benefit does it bring to their users if any? (Given that they already support Apple Pay)

Benefit: They don't have to deal with Apple Pay outages

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[bob24]

Benefit: They don't have to deal with Apple Pay outages

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I seriously doubt Curve can deliver better service availability than Apple (I was a Cuve user in the past and definitely had more payment issues with them than with Apple Pay).

 

[rman0726]

I don’t get why competition for Apple is bad. Maybe the wallet app and Apple Pay is the best for contactless payments. But why not let others in the space and compete? The best way for Apple products to get better is competition.

My worry is fragmentation. I play the credit card game, so I have over a dozen cards that I use to maximize cashback, signup bonuses, and rewards. They are all in Apple Pay. I double click the power button and click the card I want, and pay.

For example, if Chase launches their own payment app, that’s fine. But I don’t think they will stop there. I think they will remove support for Apple Pay. Now when I went to use a Chase card, I will have to open up the Chase app, and likely take multiple steps to do what I did in one click. And every major bank is probably going to do the same.

 

[sw1tcher]

I seriously doubt Curve can deliver better service availability than Apple (I was a Cuve user in the past and definitely had more payment issues with them than with Apple Pay).

If there's a Curve payment issue, there's always Apple Pay as a back up, just like how if there's an Apple Pay issue, there's PayPa,l and now Curve, as back up.

 

[ifxf]

My worry is fragmentation. I play the credit card game, so I have over a dozen cards that I use to maximize cashback, signup bonuses, and rewards. They are all in Apple Pay. I double click the power button and click the card I want, and pay.

For example, if Chase launches their own payment app, that’s fine. But I don’t think they will stop there. I think they will remove support for Apple Pay. Now when I went to use a Chase card, I will have to open up the Chase app, and likely take multiple steps to do what I did in one click. And every major bank is probably going to do the same.

I hate Apple pay for this reason. I find it cumbersome switching to the correct card while holding my phone up to the payment terminal. I rather select the card from my screen before I start the payment process.

 

[cigz]

Has anyone tried it or the PayPal? How does it work? Can you still double press side button to pay or do you have to search the app, open it and then pay?
I use Apple Pay A LOT and as a European (we have contactless payments basically everywhere) I'm kinda afraid my bank will stop supporting Apple Pay and force me to pay through the app. It's just easy and fast to use Apple Pay.

 

[Rogifan]

Competition for Apple is good. Competition for Apple by regulation by forcing Apple to allow free access to its ip is bad.

Since when is NFC Apple’s IP?

 

[surferfb]

I hate Apple pay for this reason. I find it cumbersome switching to the correct card while holding my phone up to the payment terminal. I rather select the card from my screen before I start the payment process.

Maybe I am missing something, but can't you do that already? Just pull your phone out of your pocket, double click, select the card you want, then put it next to the terminal.

 

[Rogifan]

My worry is fragmentation. I play the credit card game, so I have over a dozen cards that I use to maximize cashback, signup bonuses, and rewards. They are all in Apple Pay. I double click the power button and click the card I want, and pay.

For example, if Chase launches their own payment app, that’s fine. But I don’t think they will stop there. I think they will remove support for Apple Pay. Now when I went to use a Chase card, I will have to open up the Chase app, and likely take multiple steps to do what I did in one click. And every major bank is probably going to do the same.

I don’t see that happening because customers would hate it and what would the benefit be? If banks really had an issue with Apple Pay they wouldn’t be supporting it now.

 

[Haiku_Oezu]

I hate Apple pay for this reason. I find it cumbersome switching to the correct card while holding my phone up to the payment terminal. I rather select the card from my screen before I start the payment process.

You can do that, no?

If you double pressing the side button you can summon the Apple Pay screen at any time, you can then tap the default card to dismiss it and pick the one you want

I actually do it like that because it’s super awkward to get FaceID working at the angle the card reader is usually at

 

[surferfb]

I don’t see that happening because customers would hate it and what would the benefit be? If banks really had an issue with Apple Pay they wouldn’t be supporting it now.

When has customers hating something ever stopped banks? The option now: Apple Pay or don't get used by mobile wallet. Now "oh customer, you don't need to be on Apple Pay, just install the BigBank app and then all your cards are there."

Meanwhile the people who claim that it is needed to force Apple to offer this because it is "impossible" to switch from iOS to Android are going to say "if you don't like it, just switch banks" as if that isn't 100x more difficult than buying a new phone.

 

[I7guy]

Since when is NFC Apple’s IP?

It’s not, not apples ip. But sure I suppose there could be a law ordering Rogifsn to accept overnight travelers at your abode, whether you want them or not. Because it’s not really your abode.

 

[Rogifan]

When has customers hating something ever stopped banks? The option now: Apple Pay or don't get used by mobile wallet. Now "oh customer, you don't need to be on Apple Pay, just install the BigBank app and then all your cards are there."

Meanwhile the people who claim that it is needed to force Apple to offer this because it is "impossible" to switch from iOS to Android are going to say "if you don't like it, just switch banks" as if that isn't 100x more difficult than buying a new phone.

What’s the difference between having to open a bank app and pay from it and pulling out a physical card? Walmart has never supported Apple Pay. Seems to me if banks really hated it they wouldn’t be supporting it. They’d tell customers to use their physical card.

 

[.wojtek]

Has anyone tried it or the PayPal? How does it work? Can you still double press side button to pay or do you have to search the app, open it and then pay?
I use Apple Pay A LOT and as a European (we have contactless payments basically everywhere) I'm kinda afraid my bank will stop supporting Apple Pay and force me to pay through the app. It's just easy and fast to use Apple Pay.

I use it on Android and it works just fine but J mostly use their card as safer facade and a way to get better exchange rates than the card. (which is also convenient because I can add it to Garmin watch and easily switch the card, which would be very cumbersome using Garmin app)

I recently enabled contacles payments and they work just fine - same as Google wallet...

 

[turbineseaplane]

Personally I'm happy to see things like this.

I will never understand the cult of Apple that wants them as a "dictator in your life".

 

[Nate455]

This looks like a good service, I think it should benefit a few individuals.

 

[Lyrics23]

When has customers hating something ever stopped banks? The option now: Apple Pay or don't get used by mobile wallet. Now "oh customer, you don't need to be on Apple Pay, just install the BigBank app and then all your cards are there."

Meanwhile the people who claim that it is needed to force Apple to offer this because it is "impossible" to switch from iOS to Android are going to say "if you don't like it, just switch banks" as if that isn't 100x more difficult than buying a new phone.

In the EU, switching banks is much easier than switching phones from iOS to Android.

Proper regulation (e.g. the EU’s Payment Accounts Directive) ensures that switching banks is a simple, quick, automated process.

The EU is excellent at standing up for consumer rights in this way; it’s similarly easy switching mobile internet providers, energy companies, etc.