There has been a quiet, yet developing shift in the payments industry as of recent years and that is the growing consumer demand for seamless and efficient grouped payments.
Companies like Splitwise were the first company to recognise a solution to this growing demand, and despite its popularity amongst consumers, there is a new player attempting to simplify this process even further.
Speaking to Payment Expert, Cino CEO and Co-Founder Elena Churilova, speaks on the importance of automating a seamless grouped payments experience, and the important role in consumer apps during this process.
Payment Expert: Firstly Elena, how significant has Cino’s funding been in being able to further grow the company within your respective field?
Elena Churilova: We’ve raised €2.1m in investment funding – it’s exciting to see the confidence and support from our investors in building shared payments as a core vertical in fintech.
At the same time, we also gained further interest by winning a startup competition, where the overwhelming support from the audience at the event made it clear that we were solving a massive problem, and it made our investors even more excited about our vision.
This investment now allows us to scale strategically and meet the growing demand we’ve seen from users.
PE: How gratifying was the Mastercard Lighthouse Finitiv award for Cino to gain recognition across the payments landscape?
EC: The Mastercard award was a proud and defining moment for Cino. Over the course of three months of working with them, we set up some key strategic partnerships that will contribute to our growth.
It was yet another example of pivotal players in the finance space being excited by our potential.
PE: How does Cino’s grouped payments offering differ from more traditional methods of this payment type?
EC: Until now, companies in the fintech space have helped simplify the process of settling debts, but have not enabled consumers to pay together in real-time. At Cino, we believe the future of payments lies in paying together, regardless of whether it’s for big-ticket items like long-haul flights or small daily shared costs like a Netflix subscription.
Consumers currently have to face a four-step process with every bill they pay: fronting the cost, working out who owes what, factoring in old debts, and chasing people to pay them back – often multiple times. We believe that this is an artefact of the fact that we cannot pay together, and once solved, it would eliminate the need for this process in the first place.
Cino is also bank-agnostic, meaning that you can use it with people across different banks and countries, and custom features such as spending limits and split ratios also ensure that Cino is fully flexible and able to work in the way that’s most suited to each user.
PE: What have been some of the challenges facing companies when it comes to grouped payments and how have Cino identified these and provided the relevant solutions?
EC: One of the major challenges businesses face with group payments is conversion loss, especially for big-ticket items like hotel bookings, flights, or furniture.
Customers often don’t have the funds to front large purchases for a group, leading to abandoned carts or lost sales. We are filling this gap in the market by enabling consumers to pay together, meaning that no one has to front the cost and be owed large sums of money by multiple people.
PE: How important are consumer apps in being able to bring a single platform solution to enable more efficient and seamless payments and other elements such as shared finance, etc.?
EC: The landscape of consumer apps has shifted dramatically, and simplicity is no longer just a nice-to-have, it’s the basics. But it’s not just about making apps simple to use; it’s about whether you are also removing burdens from people’s lives.
For example, a tracking app might be simple to navigate, but if it adds more admin work, it’s missing the whole point. For Cino’s users, especially Gen Z, convenience and automation are non-negotiable.
Our users, whether they’re splitting costs with partners, friends, or roommates, constantly tell us: “I can’t believe this didn’t exist sooner.” Our growth over the past year is proof that people are craving this simplicity, and how crucial it is for them to have tools that truly simplify their lives.
PE: Lastly Elena, and thank you for your time, moving forward, how are Cino looking to challenge competitors like Splitwise in your respective field?
Splitwise was a great invention when it came into the market in 2008, but now it’s essentially a calculator for adding up debt and doesn’t enable you to pay together in real-time.
Apps that require manual input, like Splitwise, are not the most impactful solution for today’s consumer and their needs. The ability to pay together is why our users prefer Cino over other solutions, as we fix the problem at the moment of payment, instead of being another player in the post-payment process world.
Ultimately, Cino exists to make people’s lives easier – so they can spend more time doing things with the people they love, together.
