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Insights and Expertise

The real prize: a flexible, next-generation reset dramatically, especially for companies with high
bank account operating costs and long paths to profitability.
Curve's multi-funding rails give Lloyds the For Lloyds, however, the timing is ideal. It is acquiring
opportunity to create a new type of bank account: a sophisticated wallet and orchestration capability at a
one where customers choose the best payment method for fraction of its replacement cost and doing so at a moment
each transaction – debit, credit, instalments, partner credit when large banks globally are reassessing their digital
lines, or Open Banking – without switching between wallet strategies in response to Big Tech.
separate cards. This would allow Lloyds to embed its own
BNPL offering across all merchants and reclaim volumes What to expect next
currently flowing to fintech competitors. It could also
route more transactions internally, reducing interbank The acquisition signals that Lloyds intends to play a more
fees and improving economics. assertive role in the next generation of consumer payments.
If integrated successfully, Curve's technology could
The integration of Curve's technology would help deepen enable Lloyds to deliver a genuinely differentiated digital
customer loyalty by positioning the Lloyds app as the pri- account. One built around intelligent funding, embedded
mary hub for payment decisions, while offering a "smart- credit and a more seamless payment experience.
er" account experience that adapts in real time to each cus-
tomer's needs. For UK payments, it is a significant and potentially market-
shaping moment.
In a market where product boundaries are increasingly Chris Jones manages PSE Consulting's business and is well known in
blurred, this positions Lloyds at the center of a consumer's the UK and EU for his regular insights into payments innovation. He has
payment decision rather than one card among many. spent the last 20+ years leading assignments for major clients during his
A sign of the times in fintech time at PSE and Accenture. His specializations include customer proposi-
tion development, market entry strategies and enterprise value creation.
Curve's shareholders are right to observe that the sale price Contact him via email at info@pseconsulting.com or on LinkedIn at
falls short of earlier expectations. But the environment linkedin.com/in/chrisjonespse. To learn more about PSE, a provider of
that allowed Curve to raise £250 million ($333 million) payment advisory services to professionals across the payments land-
no longer exists. Growth-stage fintech valuations have scape, visit https://pseconsulting.com.

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