An investor group led by The Lifetime Value Company (LTVCo) has acquired Kipp, a platform for recovering card declines.
The deal places Kipp under the ownership of an investor group that includes LTVCo and its founders. Josh Levy, CEO and Co-founder of LTVCo, said the investor group intends to fund the company’s technology, network expansion, and partner support over the long term. Kipp plans to use these resources to expand its US presence, invest further in its technology, and build partnerships with card issuers and merchants. The company will keep operating independently under its co-founders, Chanan Lavi (CEO) and Nir Levy (CTO).
Kipp focuses on card declined transactions caused by insufficient funds. These declines carry costs on both sides of the transaction. For merchants, a decline means a lost sale and a dissatisfied customer. For issuers, it means forgone interchange revenue. It can also weaken their top-of-wallet position if the cardholder switches to another payment method.
Kipp’s model gives merchants the option to pay a premium on selected transactions that would otherwise be declined for insufficient funds. Issuers decide which transactions they approve and set the premium they require in exchange for taking on the additional risk. Consumers are not charged an extra fee. The company reports saving rates of 20% to 50%, depending on the merchant. At the top of that range, half of the transactions that would have been declined end up approved.
How the platform operates
Kipp is not a payment processor. Instead, it works as a real-time decisioning and collaboration layer between issuers and merchants. When an issuer is about to decline a transaction for insufficient funds, Kipp checks whether the merchant will pay a predefined premium to have it approved. Issuers set their own rules covering eligible transactions, customer segments, and pricing.
Merchants do not need to complete any technical integration. Issuers can connect to Kipp either through their processor or directly. According to Chanan Lavi, CEO and Co-founder of Kipp, the company’s priority is to grow its US issuer and merchant network and bring more transaction volume onto the platform. Lavi said the model will keep its existing principles: issuer control over risk, sales recovery for merchants, and no added cost for consumers.
LTVCo operates a portfolio of data-driven consumer brands, including BeenVerified, Bumper, and Ownerly. As a result, it has direct experience with the revenue and customer relationships that merchants lose to payment declines.
