LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Curve, the fast-growing financial super app, has closed the largest ever equity raise on Crowdcube, breaking multiple records during the campaign. The raise closed at 1500 BST today, hitting nearly GBP10m in funding from 11,795 investors.
In another record, Curve was the fastest ever company on Crowdcube to raise GBP6m, which it did in just 2 hours 49 minutes after it went live on 25th May. The fundraise has also been Crowdcube’s most popular in 2021 and far outstrips the total of GBP6m Curve raised during its 2019 crowdfund.
Curve’s latest campaign went live at 0900 BST on Tuesday (25th May) and closed today. The campaign was designed to enable Curve customers and retail investors to follow in the footsteps of some of tech’s leading institutional investors.
More than 4,000 retail investors took part in the first 60 minutes of the crowdfund, smashing Curve’s initial target of GBP1m within just 10 minutes of the round opening. Over GBP3.1m was raised within the first 30 minutes of the campaign, with GBP4m raised after just 56 minutes.
The funds raised this week follow the GBP132m Curve has raised in cash and capital commitments to-date to support its rapid growth, including the capital secured in the super app’s recent successful Series C, led by IDC Ventures, Fuel Venture Capital and Vulcan Capital.
Curve will use the funds raised by crowdfunding and its recent Series C round to execute its ambitious growth strategy, focussed on its international expansion and product innovation. This strategy includes the rollout of its award-winning Curve OS platform in the US, broadening its European reach, and the forthcoming launch of Curve Credit in the UK, and in Europe. To deliver this, Curve plans to add at least 200 employees to its workforce over the course of 2021.
Shachar Bialick, Founder and CEO of Curve, said: “Ever since our last crowdfund in 2019, our customers have been requesting another opportunity to take a share in Curve. So we launched this campaign to give the public a chance to join us as we embark on the next stage of our exciting journey, when we reveal Curve Credit to the world and launch in the US. We’ve been blown away by the level of interest we’ve seen over the past three days, and I’m so excited to welcome nearly 12,000 investors on board.”
Luke Lang, co-founder and CMO of Crowdcube, says: “Hats off to Curve for another landmark raise with Crowdcube, they continue to impress investors with their unique proposition. It’s a really exciting time for their shareholders, both new and existing, to be part of their ongoing success and their mission to shape the future of finance.”
Bobby Aitkenhead, Managing Partner of IDC Ventures, said: “As one of the lead investors in Curve, we’re ecstatic to see such a phenomenal response from its customers and community. Digitalisation is stepping up pace globally, as is financial services fragmentation. Pioneering companies like Curve have huge potential to shape the future of finance. They’re already, and will continue, to add so much value to our lives. We’re proud to support them in this journey to the top.”
The crowdfunding round caps a transformational year for Curve. In the last year alone, it has hired over 100 new staff, doubled its customer base, and it has seen the volume of transactions it processes increase by over GBP1 billion to GBP2.6 billion, despite the backdrop of a global pandemic.
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About Curve
Curve is an all in one financial super app. Its mission is to be a one-stop shop for all the financial needs of a consumer; a single point of access to a wide range of financial products and services, bundling together all your money into one smart card and an even smarter app. Unlike other services available in the market today, Curve allows customers to connect and supercharge their legacy banks to the 21st century, without leaving their bank or signing up to a new bank. Curve is live in 31 markets across the UK and European Economic Area (EEA).
Curve provides a host of benefits to its customers:
Combines a customer’s Mastercard and Visa debit and credit cards in one card.
Enables customers’ cards to fit into Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, FitBit Pay and many more, even if their banks do not support this integration.
Curve provides 1% cash back on selected retailers for the first 30 days, or for an unlimited time on Curve’s paid subscriptions.
With Curve’s patented Go-Back-In-Time(R) feature, Curve customers may be able to swap their spend to a different account, up to 90 days after the purchase was made.
Increased security and privacy – Curve simplifies customers’ lives by providing them with only one pin to remember; keeping other sensitive card numbers safe by using Curve when spending online; providing real time spending notifications and the ability to lock the Curve card directly from the app.
Peace of mind – Curve’s premium Metal offering provides mobile phone insurance and travel insurance to ensure customers can focus on living their lives, rather than worrying about losing their phone or bags when they travel.
Curve supports Mastercard and Visa networks. The Curve Card and e-money, related to cards issued in the UK, is issued by Curve OS Limited, authorised in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority to issue electronic money (firm reference number 900926). The Curve Card and e-money, related to cards issued in the EEA, is issued by Curve Europe UAB, authorised in Lithuania by the Bank of Lithuania (electronic money institution license No. 73 issued on 22 of October, 2020).
For more information go to www.curve.com, like our Facebook page and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter @imaginecurve and Instagram @imaginecurve.
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