Cino

Cino is a financial technology company targeting the shared payments market, specifically catering to Gen Z and Millennial consumers such as couples, friends, and roommates. The company was founded in 2023 by CEO Elena Churilova and COO Lina Saleh. Churilova brings product and design experience from her time at Bumble and Booking.com, while Saleh has a background in Human-Centered Design from Cornell University. The idea for Cino stemmed from Churilova's personal frustration with the complexities of splitting expenses and a shared passion with Saleh to create a fair and seamless solution.

The core of Cino's offering is a fintech app that provides a shared virtual card, enabling groups to split payments automatically at the point of transaction. This system is designed to eliminate the need for one person to pay upfront and then seek reimbursement from others. Users connect their existing bank cards to the Cino app, which then issues a virtual Visa card for the group. This card can be added to digital wallets like Apple Pay or Google Pay and used for online or in-person purchases wherever Visa is accepted. The platform is bank-agnostic, meaning users do not need to be with the same financial institution. Transactions are settled in real-time, with each member's pre-determined share debited directly from their individual bank accounts at the moment of purchase. The app provides transparency through a group feed that displays all payments.

The company has demonstrated significant early traction, particularly in Finland and Italy, reporting 100% month-on-month growth and high user engagement, with the average group using the service 17 times per month. In October 2023, Cino raised over €1.4 million in a funding round with participation from Tera Ventures, APX, and Atomico Syndicate. This was followed by a €3.5 million seed round in March 2025, led by Balderton Capital and joined by Connect Ventures and angel investors like Barney Hussey-Yeo, the founder of Cleo. This capital is earmarked for expansion into the UK market, where a waitlist is already established, and for further development across Europe. Cino is also exploring new verticals, including B2B payments and rental payment solutions.

Keywords: shared payments, group payments, bill splitting, fintech, virtual card, Gen Z finance, real-time payments, expense sharing, peer-to-peer payments, social payments, Elena Churilova, Lina Saleh, Balderton Capital, Connect Ventures, mobile payments, digital wallet, collaborative finance, roommate expenses, couple finances, travel expenses