Bento for Business Scoops Up $9M

According to PYMNTS.com, Bento for Business, a financial management solutions provider for small and midsize businesses, has announced a $9 million investment round led by Edison Partners. Existing investor Comcast Ventures and new investor MissionOG also participated.

Bento will use the new funds to boost its already impressive growth by scaling talent in marketing and engineering, as well as extending its platform across payments, spend management and business banking.

In the last year, the company reports that it has tripled revenues and doubled its customer base, while also launching two new products and adding distribution partners.

"Time and again, research says that poorly managed business spend is the single largest threat to the profits of small and midsize businesses in the U.S. We solve this problem and bring our customers an intelligent financial management solution that stops unauthorized spending before it happens. We're excited to bring new products to market that continue to set the standard for modern business banking and treasury management," says Farhan Ahmad, CEO and founder of Bento for Business.

Bento's card-based digital spend management platform enables businesses to control their employees' spending prior to purchase, which prevents unauthorized expenses. The platform also offers smart workflow solutions, including receipt uploads and automatic sync with accounting software like QuickBooks.

"As the saying goes, employers love their employees, they just don't trust them. There is massive latent demand among employers to seize full control over every dollar they spend, and stop non-authorized employee spending before profit-killing purchases can happen," said Michael Kopelman, General Partner for Edison Partners, who led the investment. "We're thrilled to partner with Farhan and team to continue to solve this problem, and create an end-to-end treasury management and banking experience that modern business deserves."

Bento also offers an open API, virtual and debit cards, and white-label capability for co-brand partners, banks, processors and payment networks. The company recently partnered with global cash management & logistics provider The Brink's Company, global payments processor i2c and payment-card issuer The Bancorp Bank.