NEW YORK, Oct. 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Kipp, the fintech platform connecting card issuers and merchants to approve more transactions, today announced its acquisition by an investor group led by The Lifetime Value Company (LTVCo) and its founders. The acquisition provides Kipp with substantial long-term financial backing and ownership committed to its continued growth, giving the company the resources to expand its US presence, invest in its technology and build enduring partnerships with issuers and merchants. Kipp will continue to operate independently under the leadership of its co-founders, Chanan Lavi, CEO, and Nir Levy, CTO.

Non-sufficient fund (NSF) card declines are an expensive challenge for merchants and card issuers. For merchants, a declined transaction means a lost sale and a frustrated customer. For issuers, it means lost interchange revenue and potentially a loss of loyalty and top-of-wallet positioning if the customer chooses another payment method.

Kipp brings the two sides together, allowing merchants to pay a premium for selected transactions that would otherwise be declined due to insufficient funds. Issuers retain full control over which transactions they approve and the premium they require to take on additional risk. The consumer pays no additional fee.

Depending on the merchant, Kipp has demonstrated save rates of 20% to 50%, meaning that up to half of transactions that otherwise would have been declined can be approved.

“Our focus now is expanding our US issuer and merchant network and bringing more transactions onto the platform,” said Chanan Lavi, CEO and Co-founder of Kipp. “This acquisition gives us the long-term backing and operational resources to accelerate that work while preserving what makes Kipp valuable: issuers control their risk, merchants recover sales and consumers pay no additional fee.”

The new ownership brings experience building and scaling technology businesses, direct merchant relationships and deep payments industry expertise. Participating investor LTVCo operates a portfolio of data-driven consumer brands including BeenVerified, Bumper and Ownerly, providing a firsthand merchant perspective on the revenue and customer relationships lost to payment declines.

In addition to the acquisition, Kipp has brought on several industry experts in leadership and advisory roles, including:

  • Executive Chairman Jeff Stiefler — Former President of American Express, Chairman of Vantiv, and Lead Independent Director of FIS
  • Strategic Advisor Adam Coyle — Former Chief Strategy Officer of Worldpay and Head of Strategy and Corporate Development at Vantiv
  • Board Member Randy Christofferson — Former President of First USA and American Express Relationship Services

A New Model for Recovering Declined Transactions

Kipp operates as a real-time decisioning and collaboration layer between card issuers and merchants, rather than as a payment processor. When an issuer is about to decline a transaction because of insufficient funds, Kipp determines whether the merchant is willing to pay a predefined premium for the transaction to be approved. The issuer sets its own rules for eligible transactions and customer segments, as well as the premium it requires.

Kipp requires no merchant-side technical integration and can connect with issuer infrastructure through its processor or directly.

“Every unnecessary decline costs a merchant a sale and an issuer a chance to remain the customer’s preferred card,” said Josh Levy, CEO and Co-founder of LTVCo. “We’ve seen that firsthand. Kipp aligns both sides to recover that revenue and deliver a better customer experience. We’re committed to building Kipp for the long term, with the financial strength and resources to invest in its technology, expand its network and support its partners at scale.”

About Kipp
Kipp connects card issuers and merchants to recover transactions that would otherwise be declined due to insufficient funds. Its platform allows merchants to pay issuers a premium to approve selected transactions, at no additional cost to consumers. Operating as a real-time decisioning and collaboration layer, Kipp uses issuer-defined rules and transaction-level information while giving issuers control over approval decisions and pricing. Kipp helps issuers generate incremental revenue and merchants recover lost sales while enabling consumers to complete purchases using their preferred payment method.

PR Contact:
Mark Prindle
Fusion PR
kipp@fusionpr.com


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