Lithuanian payments startup kevin. has released a novel product for merchants that switches customers from card payments to account-to-account (A2A) payments at the checkout.
Customers who start making a payment using their card can finish using their bank account, a method that is up to 90% cheaper for merchants.
Pavel Sokolovas, co-founder and COO of kevin., says: "In Europe, up to 80% of all online payments are made by debit card. And behind every debit card there's an account, which means these payments could be made directly from accounts."
At checkout, kevin.'s software identifies the related bank after the customer types in the first eight digits of their card number.
"If it is a debit card, we then give the customer the option to switch to a bank payment, explaining that this is faster, safer and easier," says Sokolovas. "In fact, our method requires at least two fewer steps than a typical online card payment, with no need to enter the card holder's name, the expiry date, or the CVV number. With no card and CVV this flow is much safer for the customers."
The firm says that in closed Beta testing, ten percent of customers chose to switch from debit to A2A payments.
The product launch comes after kevin. announced a €1.5M seed raise, bringing total investment in the startup to €3.4 million. Founded in 2018, is currently operating in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, and the Netherlands, with plans to offer its payment infrastructure to clients in 14 more European markets by 2022.