Fintech startup Kenbi raises $5 million in Seed to legitimize credit card transaction

Kenbi, an Israeli fintech company that helps banks, card issues, and merchants approve transactions that may be denied in real-time, has announced that it has raised $5 million in Seed. The round was led by TLV Partners with participation from Entrée Capital, Izba, and R-Squared Ventures, and comes at the same time that the company has joined MasterCard and Enel’s FinSec Lab.

Legitimate transactions can sometimes be rejected by card issues to prevent financial risk or fraud. While the intentions are good, EU data suggests that these declines can cause 30% of customers to stop using the card or can lead the user to contact the bank to complain about the service, resulting in higher operating costs and decreased card usage. Kenbi’s solution creates a network of authorized banks and merchants to help them approve legitimate transactions without assuming more risk, leading to increased revenue and customer satisfaction on both sides. The company’s approach relies on real-time data sharing and communication between merchants and card issuers.

“The growth rate of e-commerce has increased 5x compared to the growth rate in brick-and-mortar stores in 2021, increasing the share of consumers experiencing unnecessary declines,” says Chanan Lavi, CEO of Kenbi. “Kenbi is changing the rules of traditional banking systems using AI technology that helps improve the payment approval rates for banks, card issuers, and merchants.”