How Curve optimised their affordability strategy to scale comparison-led acquisitions

Curve is the ultimate digital wallet that connects all cards into one smart solution. The Curve Flex product is an instalment-based revolving credit line that offers customers flexible spending.

The challenge was that their decisioning in acquisitions was creating significant referrals. 46% of applications were being referred to manual underwriting, creating operational bottlenecks that prevented scaling.

Their goals were to:

1. Implement a solution that enabled 100% automated decisions for acquisitions and initial limit setting
2. Use better affordability data to build a competitive proposition that would allow Flex to achieve a top-ranking position on leading consumer marketplaces
3. Win more initial customer interest and convert more applications to actual credit lines by delivering on those initial competitive offers
4. Move away from over-reliance on Open Banking as it increased friction during expenditure verification and backup income checks, adding complexity at the start of the user journey

The company needed a solution that could provide more accurate affordability assessments while maintaining the frictionless customer experience their users expected, ultimately making it quicker and fairer for more people to access credit they otherwise might not have received.

Infact's Affordability Engine was integrated into Curve's existing decisioning process to address these challenges. The solution creates personalised assessments for each applicant by combining marketplace application form information with proprietary modelled data, ensuring each assessment reflects their individual financial situation. The solution was used to:

• Replace their ONS-based approach with Infact’s nuanced expenditure component to receive personalised assessments and increase affordability confidence levels
• When CATO returns red or missing data, Curve uses Infact’s estimated income component to supplement gaps in income verification or assess uncertain declared amounts in line with CONC 5.2A guidelines

This approach maintains compliance while delivering the speed and accuracy needed for marketplace competition.

The engine provides a response within 1 second on 100% of the UK adult population. It stays current through regular updates that account for changing economic conditions and regulatory requirements, keeping assessments accurate and relevant to today's market conditions without requiring system changes from Curve.

After adding Infact's proprietary modelled income and expenditure smart layer on top of their CATO results, Curve:

1. Issued over £250m in additional credit limits, with this number continuing to grow rapidly
2. Achieved 100% automation, eliminating all manual underwriting processes
3. Reached an average 1.4 ranking position in marketplace comparisons
   

The engine also creates clear audit trails with explainable affordability decisions, making it easier to handle compliance reviews and customer complaints.

Curve’s customers are also experiencing a fundamentally better credit application process. The result is that customers who need access to flexible credit can get it quickly and fairly, without jumping through unnecessary hoops or facing unjust declines.