Innovation in retail payment technology marches on, with a new player throwing its hat into the ring.
At CES, Italian startup Splitty Pay made the case for why people should be able to complete an online transaction using multiple credit or debit cards. Historically, e-commerce companies haven’t accommodated so-called split transactions due to the security and software challenges of verifying more than one credit or debit card at a time.
Splitty Pay, founded by CEO Alberto Porzio and CFO Matteo Destantini, might be yet another hit with millennials and other younger consumers tired of business as usual.
It’s a natural fit in the group buying arena; if a circle of friends or family members are purchasing something together—a getaway, perhaps, or T-shirts for the annual reunion—using Splitty Pay allows all stakeholders to pay their share at the moment of transaction, rather than saddling one with the full cost and making that person chase everyone else for payment. Of course, someone paying with Splitty Pay can spread the cost of their purchase over multiple credit cards in the event that each individual card doesn’t have sufficient funds to cover the charge.
According to Porzio and Destantini, Splitty Pay accommodates as many as 10 cards in a single transaction, with a minimum of $5 charged to each card. The six-month-old startup is live with Casa Vacanza—the Italian equivalent of Airbnb, the founders said—and is in talks with luxury fashion platform Yoox.
Splitty Pay’s debut comes as retailers across the world embrace new payment options and methods. Afterpay, the millennial-friendly payment installment solution, made the leap from its native Australia to the U.S. to great acclaim last summer, quickly finding partners in the likes of youth-oriented brands Urban Outfitters and Revolve, to name a few. Quadpay and Sezzle offer similar installment-buying plans to help shoppers spread out the cost of their purchases. Klarna’s options for online try-before-buying are seeing uptake by online retailers eager to entice shoppers who might be hesitant to commit to unfamiliar brands or sizing. Players like Splitit allow consumers to charge purchases to their cards in installments.