Lloyds Banking Group is set to acquire Curve, a London-based FinTech that operates a digital wallet platform.

Curve's digital wallet brings together cards and alternative payment sources in one platform, while offering savings and loyalty features. The platform, which is authorised and regulated in the UK and the EEA, processes billions of payments annually.

Under the agreement, Curve Pay, Curve's technology and digital wallet, will be integrated into Lloyds Bank’s existing digital offering.

The move aims to enable the bank to offer its customers an improved mobile banking payment experience, it said.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Lloyds said the deal represents a strategic move to drive its digital transformation, with a view to boosting its banking strategy of delivering improved digital experiences to its 28 million customers.

It added that the integration aims to offer Lloyds customers greater payment flexibility and access to advanced digital wallet features that provide greater control and personalisation in money management.

These new features include transferring past purchases between accounts, earning rewards in addition to existing card benefits, accessing Pay Later solutions, and eliminating currency exchange fees from any card linked to its app.

The acquisition is expected to complete in the first half of 2026, subject to regulatory approval.

The bank has reportedly been in talks with the FinTech for the past months. In July, Sky News confirmed that negotiations were at an advanced stage, adding that the deal could be announced by the end of September if an agreement had to be reached.

The price range under discussion was between £100 million and £120 million, representing a lower valuation than the £133 million raised by Curve in its Series C funding round, which concluded in 2023 and was backed by Britannia, IDC Ventures and Cercano Management.

As part of its technology expansion strategy, Lloyds currently holds a stake in the banking-as-a-service platform ThoughtMachine, which offers core banking technology.

The bank has also recently acquired minority stakes in several other financial start-ups, including AI specialist for financial services Aveni and Fennech, which provides AI-based financial automation.

Curve was founded by former Israeli special forces soldier Shachar Bialick in 2016.

In May, the digital wallet became the first direct competitor to Apple Pay in the European Economic Area (EEA) by launching Curve Pay on iOS after it became available on Android.

 

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