Between:
splitting expenses with friends has basically become an extreme sport.
Because every group always has:
And after a few days, nobody actually knows:
The truth?
The problem isn't your friends.
It's the system. There still isn't a real app for splitting expenses with friends that fixes the problem at the root, instead of just keeping score of it.
Because group expenses today are constant.
It's no longer just:
It's:
And every single time, someone has to:
At some point it starts to feel like a part-time job. (It gets worse on trips — we cover that in our guide on splitting travel expenses with friends.)
The classic approach:
"Don't worry, I've got this one."
Works… until:
And suddenly the group hits the phase of:
"Wait, who paid for dinner yesterday?"
A lot of groups use tracking apps to log:
They're especially useful on group trips.
But you still have to:
So the mental effort never really goes away. At the end of the day, tracking expenses and splitting them are two different things, and that's exactly where this kind of app stops short.
Cino works differently.
Cino is a shared card that links multiple people's bank cards and automatically splits payments in real time.
For example:
When you pay, Cino automatically charges everyone's share from their own linked card.
So there's no need to:
Summer in Italy follows a script.
Beach clubs in Rimini, Sardinia or Puglia.
€30-a-head lunches that turn into €50 because someone orders another round.
Petrol split four ways to get to the campsite.
An Airbnb booked by just one person, waiting on transfers from the other three.
And by the end of the trip, someone always ends up out of pocket.
Not because friends are dishonest.
But because nobody wants to be the cheap one in the group.
With Cino, every expense is split the exact moment it's paid. Nobody fronts money, nobody waits, nobody becomes the group's unofficial accountant.
That way, summer stays what it's supposed to be — a memory, not a spreadsheet.
Most tension in groups doesn't come from big amounts.
It comes from:
And eventually:
In 2026, splitting expenses has become completely normal.
Because:
But the tools have stayed stuck at:
Which is exactly why new solutions built for paying together directly are gaining ground. (The same applies to couples — see our guide on splitting expenses with a partner.)
This fresh approach to shared payments earned Cino a spot in Mastercard Lighthouse, one of the most recognised fintech programmes in Europe.
Because more and more people don't just want to track expenses after they've paid.
They want to pay together directly, with no debts, no transfers, and no awkward moments.
What's the best app to split expenses with friends?
It depends what you're after. Splitwise and Tricount are great for tracking who owes what, but you're still stuck fronting the money and transferring it afterwards. Cino instead splits every payment automatically across everyone's cards the moment you pay, so there's nothing to sort out later.
How does an app like Cino work for splitting expenses with friends?
Create a group, everyone links their own debit card, and when one of you pays, Cino automatically charges everyone's share from their own card, in real time.
How much does it cost to split expenses with Cino?
20 cents per transaction, up to a maximum of €5 a month. After around 25 transactions, everything else that month is free. No subscription, no account to open.
Does Cino work with my bank?
Yes, with practically any Italian bank: PostePay, Intesa Sanpaolo, Banca Sella, Revolut, ING, and many others.
Splitting expenses with friends shouldn't:
It should be simple.
Because nobody wants to spend their summer chasing €12 for Aperol.
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