Lloyds to acquire London fintech in bid to grow digital offerings
Lloyds Banking Group is acquiring London based fintech Curve, as it looks to boost its digital offerings and compete against popular challenger banks.
Curve, which was founded in 2015, operates as a digital payment wallet which combines all debit and credit cards alongside alternative payment sources, such as cryptocurrency, onto a single platform.
The platform has over 6m users and processes billions annually.
In a statement on Wednesday, the bank said it expects the acquisition to offer customers both improved payment flexibility and access to other features, including not having to pay foreign exchange fees, switching past purchases to different accounts and the use of pay later solutions.
No terms were disclosed for the deal, but Sky News previously reported Lloyds would pay £120m for the fintech.
Budget jitters and neobanks
The transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals, an is not predicted to have a substantial financial impact on the bank’s full year guidance.
The group’s share price fell 1.15 per cent in early morning trading, as the news failed to end jitters surrounding the upcoming Budget.
The acquisition of Curve follows Lloyds first steps into becoming more digital focused, in order to compete against rising neobanks, including Revolut and Monzo, which are increasing luring away tech savvy consumers.
The group has been working towards closing down its high street branches in order to pour further investment into its mobile banking app and other new products such as ‘digital twin’ technology.
Curve also hailed the acquisition as a “partnership rooted in shared ambition” to deliver simpler, digital banking experiences.
Challenges at Curve
The sale follows warnings from auditors of Curve earlier this year on the “material uncertainty” of the platform’s ability to continue operating as the firm battled to cut its losses.
The Paddington-based fintech was forced to reduce its headcount by more than a third as well as suspends its operations in the US in efforts to save capital.
While Curve raised more than £40m in funding in 2024, it posted a pre-tax loss for the 2023 financial year of £36m.
However, Curve said it was “confident” it would be able to raise more funds, with the Lloyds sale first rumoured just a few months later in July.
External investor concerns
However venture capital firm IDC, which is Curve’s largest external investor with 12 per cent of the shares, said they were “did not support” the sale.
The firm said in a statement: “IDC Ventures remains deeply concerned about the conduct of Curve’s management and board during the current sale process.
“Issues regarding the company’s governance and ownership are disputed, and IDC is reserving all legal rights pending further developments.
“It is a matter of real surprise to shareholders that Lloyds Banking Group, a leading UK institution, would contemplate proceeding with a transaction that IDC believes is not in the best interests of the company or its shareholders.
“As such, IDC does not intend to support the proposed sale and does not believe that it is capable of being implemented without its support.”