Curve, the Over-The-Top banking platform that consolidates multiple cards and accounts into one smart card and the even smarter app has announced it has opened its first United States office, selecting Brooklyn in New York as the base to launch its U.S operations.
Curve is the first UK fintech to open an office in Brooklyn, selecting it because of its access to world-class paytech talent and burgeoning start up scene. It will create 185 new jobs in the U.S by 2024 and invest nearly $17M in research and development over the next decade. Since Curve launched in European markets in 2018, more than 900,000 users have signed up for a Curve card, and more than £1.2Bn has been spent on the Curve platform.
Leading the U.S expansion will be Amanda Orson, Curve’s newly appointed VP, Head of North America. Orson will be based out of the Brooklyn Office, where she will take on responsibility for establishing Curve’s U.S business and grow the highly successful UK Fintech’s U.S team.
“In the race to own the consumer relationship, Curve is building the perfect product for the US market at just the right time,” said Amanda Orson, Curve’s new VP, Head of North America. “US consumers aren’t clamoring for a different, or additional, bank – they want their financial products to provide a better user experience. Curve’s all-in-one value proposition, ease of use, and obsession with customer experience are exactly what the US market needs. I am honored to join the team and lead Curve’s product expansion in the United States and be able to start this adventure from the world’s premier financial hub, recruiting from a pool of the best tech talent in the world.”
Eric Gertler, Empire State Development Acting Commissioner, and President & CEO-designate said, “New York City has long been known as the center of the finance industry — and our rapidly growing tech ecosystem is building on that strong foundation to support some of the most innovative, interesting, and successful fintech firms. Curve’s decision to open its first U.S. office in Brooklyn is a testament to everything the Empire State has to offer, and we are proud they will call New York home for years to come.”
“While New York City has long established itself as the epicentre of the finance industry, we have also become a global leader in tech innovation,” said NYCEDC President and CEO James Patchett. “As we build on that success, we’re proud of our work to attract Curve to Downtown Brooklyn, which we believe is the new frontier for a thriving fintech community that will create good jobs for New Yorkers and strengthen our city’s tech ecosystem.”
2019 was a pivotal year for Curve, in which it closed its series B funding round in July, valuing the business at a quarter of a billion dollars. The all-your-cards-in-one business also broke records in September, becoming the fastest UK startup in history to raise £4M in crowdfunding on Crowdcube. After initially smashing its £1M target in under five minutes it closed out the record breaking round at just under £6M.
