Small Business News

U.S. Bank Set to Acquire Small Business Banking Service Bento

A FinTech and a major financial institution are coming together to offer better solutions to small business owners. This week, U.S. Bank announced plans to acquire the San Fransisco-based Bento Technologies — better known as Bento for Business. The purchase terms of the deal were not disclosed but the transaction is expected to close next month. Previously, Bento had raised a total of $18.5 million, with the most recent round being a $9 million Series B led by Edison Partners in 2018.

Bento offers expense management services for small businesses. This includes issuing business debit cards for employees. Not only do transactions from these cards capture receipt information but the data can then be easily exported to QuickBooks or other accounting tools. Elsewhere, Bento for Business customers can utilize the platform’s B2B payment solutions for invoice payments. According to U.S. Bank, the acquisition is part of their vision to simplify money management for small businesses.

Announcing the acquisition, U.S. Bank VP of Consumer and Business Banking Tim Welsh said in a statement, “Business owners work hard every day to turn their passion into a business. Our goal is to make money management easier for them so they can spend less time on administrative tasks, and more time on doing what they love – serving their customers. This is why Bento Technologies is a great fit for U.S. Bank.”

Meanwhile, Bento Technologies founder Farhan Ahmad shared the journey from launching the company to joining U.S. Bank, saying, “Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. In 2014, Bento pioneered the concept of smart corporate cards and automated spend management for small businesses. I’m proud to say that we have saved our customers millions of dollars since then.” Ahmad continued, “We are now very excited to join U.S. Bank in order to accelerate our vision of creating a one-stop financial operating platform to help small businesses that serve communities across the country.”

The planned acquisition of Bento for Businesses comes as small business banking options have been expanding. Most recently, Square Financial Services unveiled its Square Banking suite. Elsewhere, other FinTechs that put an emphasis on small business finance have attracted investors, including Brex closing a $425 million Series D in April.

Ultimately, U.S. Bank’s purchase of Bento Technologies is likely to be a win for small businesses. While it remains to be seen how Bento’s services might evolve under the U.S. Bank banner, being a part of a major national bank does open the doors to more product possibilities. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how this partnership comes together and what benefits business owners can expect down the road.