As payments around the world move to contactless, Fidesmo is helping to empower choice for the world’s consumers by making secure, contactless payments available to virtually any device. The new partnership with Curve will bring even more innovative payment services to Fidesmo users, making Fidesmo Pay available to hundreds of millions of people. Håkan Sahlén, Fidesmo VP Business Development, explains more.
Fuss-free payment services
“Curve is a cool new service, just like Fidesmo Pay. Like us, Curve are shaking up the market, providing people with the payment services they want without any of the fuss. Becoming partners is the ideal way forward for both of us, since we complement each other’s services, and are both growing fast.”
Curve is a financial services provider that acts as an aggregator of payment cards. Rather than having multiple cards, you can gather (connect) them all under one card or app for payments. In other words, you can have one go-to card (top of wallet) for most payments and swipe through the cards on the app to change when you want to use a different one, such as a specific loyalty card. Alternatively, you can make every payment with a different card.
One wearable, limitless opportunity
“At Fidesmo, we provide a seamless connection between wearables and payment cards, making contactless payments more fun, more secure, and more flexible. People can connect a Fidesmo-ready watch-strap or ring to their payment cards and, within a few minutes, start making contactless payments with it. And thanks to this partnership with Curve, people can now connect multiple cards to their wearables. If the card is supported on the Curve platform, it’s supported on the Fidesmo platform.”
Curve is much more than a card aggregator; they also offer users the option to move previous payments from one card to another. For example, if you make a private payment on a business card by mistake, you can go into the app at a later date and change the card you used for the payment. This can also be done if you’re maxing out a card, or for any other reason. They also offer rewards for card usage at certain retail partners.
A platform that welcomes everyone
“Working with innovative partners is part of our strategy to remain relevant today and long-term. There’s room and limitless opportunity for all types of players on our platform, regardless of size or years in operation. What we provide is the fastest and most cost-effective way to offer contactless transactions on wearables.
That’s why you will find Visa and Mastercard, full-service high street banks, such as Nordea, neobanks, wearable manufacturers like Tapster and PagoPace, and even Samsung, on our platform. And now, of course, Curve and the potential 400 million consumers in 32 countries that can use their services.”
Cut the cards
In 2021, 637.7 million new payment cards were issued on top of existing cards in Europe – that’s 1.9 cards per euro-inhabitant. In the US, the average person has almost 3.84 credit cards, and that’s not counting their debit or loyalty cards. If these are aggregated into one, payments become more convenient. When connected to a wearable, payments become more convenient and secure, not to mention the significant reduction in plastics – assuming banks no longer produce the cards and simply issue virtual cards and tokens to users.
Bringing that wow feeling to millions of more people
“We’re super excited about the partnership with Curve. I believe we will help each other to grow and many more users will get to experience that feeling of paying with a “connected thing” which continues to cause a wow reaction from many people in stores. Add to that the convenience and security of our solution, and who knows how many people will get onboard. And then there are the connected car keys, but that’s another story…
How to get started with wearable contactless payments and Curve
- Set up an account with Curve
- Download the Curve app and add multiple payment cards
- Order a Fidesmo Pay-supported wearable from one of our partners
- Register the digital curve card details with the wearable provider
- Download the Fidesmo app and register an account
- Connect the wearable by opening the Fidesmo app and holding the wearable next to the NFC chip in your phone
- Start making convenient touch-and-pay contactless payments
