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Curve introduces numberless cards

Card consolidation app Curve has become one of the first firms in Europe to roll out numberless cards in a move it says boosts security and convenience.

Investors from Curve's crowdfunding round will get the new cards, which do not have the PAN (primary account number) printed on the front.

In addition to giving the card a sleeker look, Curve says the numberless card will make online transaction easier because users will simply copy and paste the details from the Curve app.

Meanwhile, security is improved because the information is stored behind a PIN or biometric requirement in the Curve app, rather than on the card itself.

Nathalie Oestmann, COO, Curve, says: "Not only are these new investor cards more secure and easier to use, but the clean, de-cluttered and minimalist design is something we feel our investors are going to be very happy with."

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Editorial | what does this mean?

This content has been selected, created and edited by the Finextra editorial team based upon its relevance and interest to our community.

Comments: (5)

Stephen Wilson - Lockstep Consulting - Sydney 07 April, 2020, 09:32

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The "numberless card will make online transaction easier because users will simply copy and paste the details from the Curve app". Really?

This seems like yet another lost opportunity to make online payments as secure and as convenient as Card Present chip transactions!

Why not use the cryptography in the card to verify the cardholder PAN? They should secrete the PAN inside a digital certificate and use an associated private key in the card chip to digitally sign online transactions, thus binding the PAN to the transaction payload. The signature would prove possession and capture consent at the same time.

See my paper "Calling for a Uniform Approach to Card Fraud Offline and On" in The Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce, http://www.icommercecentral.com/open-access/calling-for-a-uniform-approach-to-card-fraud-offline-and-on.php?aid=38132.

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A Finextra member 07 April, 2020, 11:10

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I'd like to see the process for Telephone Order transactions, ie..giving your PAN over the phone verbally.

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Stephen Wilson - Lockstep Consulting - Sydney 07 April, 2020, 12:02

0 likes I bet you just open the app and read off the PAN.

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A Finextra member 07 April, 2020, 12:36

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Does not the applepay and samsungpay apps give the same "secure online shopping experience" + no need to flash any card at all at POS due to contactless capability? If two numberless Curve cardholders happen to put both cards on the cashier counter - how to distinguish which card belongs to whom? And should not a serious issuer decline a "pan-key-only" e comm payment attempt post PSD2 strong two factor reqirements being issued in 2019? Is the true Value Added Service the word Investor printed on the card? "Investor" also is the name of a major public European investment company and this Curvecard therefore looks like a corporate card for their staff?