Goodbye Cards

1 March 2019

The payment card system is 60 years old and it badly needs replacing. It’s costing us all billions per year in excessive transaction fees, fraud, and bad user experiences.

“In the largest-ever class-action settlement of an antitrust case, Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. agreed to pay between $5.54 billion and $6.24 billion to a class of more than 12 million merchants who accept the payment networks’ cards.”
— Bloomberg, Sep 2018

It’s about time we got rid of this outdated technology and all the unnecessary cost and restrictions it puts on our lives. It’s time to stop feeding the fat cats. Payment cards are still around because they make money for banks and card companies, not because they’re the best possible solution for moving money.

What if we made a new way of paying from scratch and designed it to serve people and businesses in today’s world? What if we created a payment network which doesn’t depend on squeezing value out of the rest of the economy but on making meaningful additions to it instead?

The Card Cartel

A lot of money is made in the world of card processing. Visa and MasterCard alone are valued at more than half a trillion $. Then there’s the banks which take a share of the payment whenever you use your card, plus a world of providers like Apple Pay who layer their fees on top of that.

So there’s a big vested interest in the card system and keeping the game going, despite its inefficiencies. They don’t want a drastically more efficient way for us all to pay if it means they won’t keep getting their piece of the pie.

Our Mission

Curl is here to be a drastically more efficient way for us all to pay. We’re here to unseat the Card Cartel and put a payment network in place which works a lot more clearly for the benefit of people and businesses — and charities too, because the card networks even charge fees on donations.

Curl brings massive improvements in security, cost, and usefulness, allowing for the creation of new products and user experiences which are not possible given the limitations of the card system — and we don’t charge fees on donations.

Smart Payments

Curl works by @usernames and by turning your phone into a smart remote control for your bank account.

You make Smart Payments by telling your own bank account @who to send money to, and how much. You don’t go around sharing highly sensitive information with others (like your card details), even when you’re checking out online.

When you pay with Curl, it cuts out the cards networks and makes a straightforward transfer from your bank account @whoever you’re sending to. No fees, no sensitive information exchanged, no hassle.

Fast And Safe Online

Skip past all the tedious card and address forms when checking out
No sensitive information exchanged with anyone, ever.
No logins or passwords required on any site

Seamless In Shops

Forget carrying loyalty cards
Order/pay ahead
Go Hands Free (🙌)*

* Pay, collect your loyalty stamps, and get an itemised receipt... all without your phone ever leaving your pocket

Easy Amongst Friends

Quickly send £20 @Lizzy2k19
Money lands straight in Liz’s bank account
Doesn’t matter what bank Liz uses

Organised For Businesses

Give multiple people permission to pay straight from a company account
Configure spending options for teams, individuals, times, places, etc.
Receipts get forwarded automatically