According to Sky News, Lloyds Banking Group is in advanced discussions with Curve over a deal in the region of £120m.
,A deal could be concluded as early as September, according to sources cited by Sky.
,Should the deal go through, it would bolster Lloyds’ digital banking credentials.
,And the reported fee of £120m is lower than the £133m valuation given after Curve’s series C funding round in 2023.
,Curve has been positioned as a rival to Apple Pay and the talk of an acquisition comes at a time when Apple is under pressure from EU regulators to make its payment services accessible to third parties.
,The fintech has raised more than £200m in equity since it was founded, including around £40m raised last year. However, it also reduced employee numbers and suspended its US expansion plans.
,For Lloyds, the attraction of Curve is that it allows the bank to create a smartphone-based wallet that can bypass Apple Pay fees.
,Lloyds already has stakes in some fintechs, including banking-as-a-service platform ThoughtMachine, and has reportedly made the expansion of its tech capabilities a strategic objective.
