.I was recently confronted with the challenge of splitting the bill with a group of journo friends at a restaurant. Some of us were paying in euros, and one in pounds, another Bulgarian lev. Oh, and the bill was in Ukrainian hryvnia as we were in Lviv. 

This is where bill-splitting apps come in, and one of the most interesting is Cino.

I spoke to its CEO and co-founder, Elena Churilova, to find out more,

The idea of Tallinn-founded Cino occurred when Churilova started dating her partner, resulting in many shared expenses. 

She recalls having an earnest conversation because she felt like she was overpaying. 

“He said, ‘Can we sit down? Because I think you owe me €300.’ And I was like, what, what do you mean? And then we actually went through the accounts and it was true.

So I felt resentful, thinking I was overpaying because we were taking turns.

But in reality, I was the one who owed him money.”

She looked for a bill-splitting app and discovered:

“I was a little bit appalled by the status of the expense industry in FinTech.”

Following a background working as a product manager at companies such as Bumble, Booking.com, and TripActions, she had an itch to fix it. 

And with a background in product management, she was determined to fix it.

Simplifying shared expenses, one virtual card at a time

Cino works differently from other payment-splitting apps. 

For a shared payment, Cino links each person’s bank account to one virtual payment card so you all pay together.

A shared virtual card works just like a regular card, exclusively available through digital wallets like Apple and Google Pay or for online payments. It’s connected to more than one bank account (or person) within a group where everyone actively connects their bank account – meaning all transactions remain private and safe.

Once a virtual card is created, group members choose their auto-split ratio (what fraction of each transaction is paid by each member). From there, each transaction is auto-split. Choosing your own split ratio is essential so you aren’t paying for your friend’s four Long Island iced teas when you’ve been drinking Coca Zero) 

Churilova realised that existing offerings, primarily launched in the 2010s or earlier, take much work. 

“You have to take several steps:

1. You have ensure you have enough money in your bank account.
2. You have to calculate who owes what and remember it.
3. You have to send the payment request and most likely ask the person again if they’ll pay their share, as they’ll most likely forget. 

And for me, it was so ridiculous that every payment required so many steps.”

She realised tha  “if I were to build a solution that was 10 times better than what’s presented in the market, it had to be solved at the moment of payment. And that’s what differentiates Cino.”

Making shared finances a breeze 

Cino’s primary users are couples—”our top users use us 21 times a month and can spend anywhere between €300 to €3000 a month,” who use the app for everything from groceries to Spotify subscriptions and vacation and hotel bookings. 

Then comes friends on trips. “Many people love Cino because when you go on a trip, it usually takes three months for everyone to pay what they owe. Roommates are another popular segment. 

The company also sees growing interest from families where older members support a younger sibling or child. 

Breaking the taboo of money talk

Marketing is not easy in a crowded app store. Cino has gained traction through word of mouth and TikTok, with a number of videos going viral.

Churilova notes:

“Money is such a taboo subject, so we decided to start these conversations.

We also partnered with influencers in the space who love to talk about friends and relationships with us. So we’re creating a sort of community to make money much more equitable and sustainable.”

And this is just the beginning for Cino. The company plans to help people split rent and utilities, usually paid from their bank account, not through a card.

“So we are in talks to partner with a major fintech player to build these new payment flows together.”

The company has also received a lot of interest from businesses approaching and asking for group payments at the checkout, such as when booking hotel rooms for a trip. 

The company also plans to launch in the UK.