Lloyds Banking Group has announced the acquisition of fintech firm, Curve, as it looks to broaden its digital transformation.

The high street lender did not state a value for the acquisition in its announcement, but Sky News reported last week that Lloyds had struck a £120m deal with the fintech company.

Curve, which is authorised and regulated in the UK and EEA, operates a digital wallet that brings all cards and alternative payments sources into one platform. Its Curve Pay solution is set to be integrated in Lloyds’ current digital offering.

Lloyds said the acquisition, which is expected to complete in the first half of 2026, marks another milestone as it aims to empower its 28 million customers through its digital offering.

However, some investors have seen the deal as controversial.

Sky News reported earlier this year that the rumoured value of the acquisition angered early investors in Curve, who believed that the deal represents only half of the total funding raising by the fintech since its creation a decade ago.

Investment director at AJ Bell, Russ Mould, said that Lloyds is looking to "up its game" through the acquisition.

He concluded: "No price tag has been disclosed but, in purely financial terms, this looks to be a modest deal both in the context of the upfront cost and the immediate impact on earnings. However, Lloyds will hope the deal can give it an edge as it adds a platform to its mobile banking services which allows users to integrate bank cards, loyalty cards and other alternative methods of payment in one place, with money-saving tools and loyalty rewards offered on top.

"An optimistic reading is that a combination of Lloyds’ credentials as a well-established financial institution combined with the convenience factor offered by the services provided by Curve could prove to be a winner. The dominance of this space by the likes of Apple Pay and Google Pay could represent a significant hurdle to Lloyds’ ambitions given their heavyweight backing."

---