Arinze Okigbo posted about trust in AI agents in late 2026. The 20-year-old computer science student at NYU is building a fintech product designed to solve a specific, physical friction point: the awkward moment after a group meal. Splita’s bet is that a virtual card, loaded with pooled funds, can replace the ritual of scanning receipts and chasing Venmo requests [LinkedIn, retrieved 2026].
The Virtual Card Wedge
A user scans a restaurant receipt within the Splita app, selects the items they ordered, and pays their share. The funds from all participants are pooled into a single-use virtual card, powered by Stripe. The person who picked up the tab can then use that card, loaded into their Apple or Google Wallet, to settle the full bill with one tap [splita.co, retrieved 2026]. The differentiation from legacy apps like Splitwise lies in moving from a tracking-and-settling model to an instant, collective payment at the point of sale.
A Founder's Market Lens
Okigbo is a Nigerian-American technologist, a Fellow at ColorStack, and a software developer at authentication firm Queralt Inc. [The Org, retrieved 2024]. His co-founders are Dayo Adebari and Will Clarkson [LinkedIn, retrieved 2026]. While Splita is headquartered in London, its founder’s roots and the use of hashtags like #africantech point to an ambition for the product in Sub-Saharan African markets [LinkedIn, June 2024]. Splita’s recognition in the 2026 Africa’s Business Heroes competition underscores this focus [Technext, June 2026].
The Competitive Grid
| Competitor | Primary Model | Key Differentiator |
|---|---|---|
| Splitwise | Expense tracking & settlement | Ubiquity and trust as a neutral ledger; no native payment. |
| Tab | Bill splitting with payment | Focus on US restaurants and direct POS integrations. |
| Splid | Group expense tracking | Simplicity and offline functionality. |
| splitty | Receipt scanning & splitting | Optical character recognition for automated itemization. |
Splita’s stated wedge is the combined virtual card, which seeks to own the final payment step competitors often outsource. The technical reliance on Stripe Issuing and digital wallets provides a known infrastructure layer [splita.co, retrieved 2026].
Where the Model Gets Tested
The company has secured a pre-seed round, but the amount and investors are undisclosed [Tracxn, retrieved 2026]. The path to revenue remains unproven. Furthermore, while the Africa angle is a potential differentiator, it introduces complexities: varying banking regulations, mobile money dominance in some markets, and the need for localization.