Bento
for Business (“Bento”), a leading B2B payments solutions provider,
today unveiled Bento Pay™, the first-of-its-kind digital payment
solution that eliminates the need to write checks and gives businesses
the ease and security of paying any supplier confidentially, regardless
of their digital payment preferences.
At the CB Insights Future of Fintech conference, Bento for Business
co-founder and CEO Farhan Ahmad said the company’s straight-to-payee
solution offers flexible digital payment options that tackle fragmented
workflows and address the lack of true supplier enablement that exist
today between SMBs and their suppliers.
Unlike other solutions that require account set-up and sharing of
confidential financial information, Bento Pay users need only the
payee’s email address to send payments, thus alleviating security and
privacy concerns. Payees, in turn, elect to receive funds via a one-time
use virtual card or ACH transfer, safeguarding their information and
enjoying fast, seamless transactions.
“Digital technology has made consumer banking and payments so much
easier and faster. Businesses today are demanding the same level of
convenience and control,” said Ahmad. “They want to move away from
complex, high-cost workflows towards a solution that is flexible and
secure. Bento Pay users can smoothly and securely complete business
payments to their suppliers while controlling their cash from one
central place.”
This new capability rounds out Bento’s full-stack payments offering,
which now includes debit and virtual cards, real-time payments, and ACH
transfers. Together, these payment options elevate the Bento financial
operating platform beyond its initial focus on spending and expense
management.
B2B commerce for SMBs in the U.S. is expected to reach $9 trillion by
2020, yet 80 percent of these businesses still use paper checks for
payments. According to Deloitte Consulting, there is a $100 billion
revenue opportunity as more businesses migrate to digital payments.
“Until now, we’ve seen no meaningful revolution in the B2B fintech space
that can viably address the underserved needs of SMBs,” said Ahmad. “We
envisioned Bento as the financial operating platform of choice for SMBs,
and the addition of real-time payment capabilities is a continuation of
our vision. With Bento Pay, we are transforming the way businesses pay
each other.”
In April of this year, the company launched the Bento for Business Visa®
Debit Card to give millions of Visa merchants instant access to
Bento’s modular financial solutions for cash management. Bento is
further engaging its business customers with differentiated third-party
partner programs and API integrations to meet the unique needs of
broader businesses and service providers.
Bento will officially introduce Bento Pay to customers in July. To learn
more, visit BentoforBusiness.com/BentoPay.
About Bento for Business
Bento’s mission is to provide businesses with a powerful financial
operating platform so they can further their vision, empower their
employees and create value for their customers. Bento’s financial
operating platform allows businesses to issue payment credentials to
people and systems without introducing risk. Bento virtual and corporate
cards and industry-leading management tools give companies unprecedented
control and visibility over company expenses, eliminating fraud and
administrative overhead. Virtual Cards, open APIs, and White Label
partnerships extend these control and management benefits to automate
payments well beyond employee expenses.
Based in Chicago and San Francisco, Bento is an award-winning SMB
fintech solution led by veteran financial service executives and backed
by leading financial technology investors. To date, Bento has raised
$18.5 million in growth financing rounds. For additional information,
visit Bento
for Business, Twitter
and LinkedIn.
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