American Express (Amex) has blocked support by Curve within days after the UK startup announced the feature.

Curve allows consolidation of all debit and credit cards into one card, and very recently added support for Amex cards in its Beta. It would have allowed cardholders to transact even at retailers that usually do not accept Amex.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

The fintech has been trialling with Amex in closed Beta since November last year. However, just days after the addition of the support, Curve issued a notice to customers saying that Amex had terminated their merchant services agreement.

Curve faced a similar challenge in 2016, when it launched Beta and added Amex cards acceptance along with Visa and Mastercard. The card giant then asked the fintech to remove support for its cards.

After seeking a new merchant account, Curve signed a merchant services agreement with Amex in March 2018, and re-launched support for a small group of its customers in November.

During the test phase, about 500 Curve users spent more than £1m on their Amex card by paying with Curve.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

The fintech went on with a full launch on 28 January this year, but received a notification of agreement termination, with immediate effect, from Amex on 29 January.

Commenting on the move, Curve said: “Amex breached their contract with Curve, failed to give appropriate notice, breached PSR regulations, and demonstrated clear anti-competitive and anti-innovation behaviour.”

Curve added that Amex raised concerns over customer experience but did not provide any additional details.